Sleight of Hand
by CobaltForge
Summary: When many influential residents of Gensokyo are kidnapped, their powerful magical items disappearing with them, Reimu Hakurei is forced to team up to find the culprit, someone capable enough to defeat the toughest fighters in Gensokyo. First story, so don't expect a work of art, but I'm trying. I'll update as often as I can. Also I came up with the cover in about 2 seconds xD
1. Chapter 1: A New Incident

**AN: I don't own Touhou. Everything in this story is intended to be fictional in nature.**

Reimu Hakurei had not been so utterly bored in a long time.

It had been a considerable amount of time since the last incident had been resolved, involving berserk fairies and simultaneous seasons. This, to Reimu, was terrible. The only times her shrine would really get donations would be after she solved incidents, or disruptions of life in Gensokyo, as a sort of congratulatory gift. Otherwise, her donation box was barren as a desert.

Some of this time was spent either trying to cook up a plan to get more donations, or conversing with her few regular visitors: Marisa, Kasen, Suika, or even even Sanae or Yukari. The only other thing she did was an occasional shopping trip for basic necessities. Most days, though, she simply did nothing, as if she wasn't motivated enough to do anything of value. Today was just another one of those sorts of days.

"Reimu?" A female voice called out from the top of the stairs leading to the shrine. "It's me!"

Reimu, who was lounging inside her shrine, recognized this voice instantly. It was that of the mountain hermit, Kasen Ibaraki, one of Reimu's most common visitors, a fairly tall woman with pink hair adorned with traditional Chinese double buns. The most distinguishable feature about Kasen, though, was that her entire right arm was wrapped in bandages, as if it were injured, at all times.

Reimu responded, "I'm inside, Kasen! Just like every other day!"

Moments later, Kasen entered the shrine itself. She was not at all surprised that Reimu was doing little to nothing. In fact, Reimu was currently lying down, staring at the ceiling, as if she had woken up and couldn't bring herself to get out of bed. Despite Kasen's best efforts, Reimu simply could not be pushed into doing anything meaningful when there wasn't an incident going on.

"Reimu, I can't believe you. How often do I have to scold you? Nobody will ever visit if you continue hiding yourself in here. And you wonder why you never get any donations…"

"And I can't believe you, Kasen," muttered Reimu quietly, "expecting to boss me around."

Kasen heard that, but ignored it; she expected that sort of retort. She was more interested in breaking news that may incentivize Reimu to take some form of action.

Sitting down, she remarked, "Well, Reimu, I'll get right to the point. Have you heard about the current… situation?"

Reimu suddenly sat up. "Situation? You finally have something good for me." After spending enough time with the shrine maiden, Kasen knew exactly what to say to get her excited.

"Mhm. I'm not sure if you've heard anything about this, Reimu, but there have been reports from across Gensokyo that various items have been stolen."

"...So what? Whoever had their stuff stolen… it's their problem, not mine."

"You're even lazier than I thought! This is quite serious, Reimu. The objects in question are all very important ones."

"I still don't see what the big deal is. I solve major incidents. I don't concern myself with thieves."

Kasen saw that Reimu would need more convincing. "What if I told you that you wouldn't be dealing with a thief, Reimu, but rather, someone much more sinister. You see, there are also several people who have not been seen in quite some time. People connected to the items stolen…"

Reimu seemed to be more interested again. "And who might these people be…?"

"You haven't noticed? It's been some time since… well, since Marisa has visited, hasn't it?"

"Marisa is missing?!" The shrine maiden stood up with a shocked expression on her face. "I thought she was just..."

"That's not all. Whoever is doing this… they must be extremely powerful. Items were stolen straight from Eientei, the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Shining Needle Castle, among other places. Naturally, these locations are quite well guarded by powerful individuals… Individuals who have seemingly vanished along with the objects swiped."

Reimu struggled to find words. Normally, those who caused incidents had at least a somewhat justifiable reason for their actions, even if it was a bit selfish or short-sighted. But this? This was flat-out malice.

"Among those reported missing are Reisen Udongein Inaba, Shinmyoumaru Sukuna, Sakuya Izayoi, Remilia Scarlet, Aya Shameimaru..."

"What the? Who could feasibly have both the ability and the motive to do this?" Reimu didn't wait for an answer. "Has anyone else been… absent?"

Kasen nodded. "Let's see… I don't know much about her, but Satori Komeiji… oh, and Alice Margatroid..."

Reimu didn't respond. She immediately gathered her standard supplies for incident solving, like her purification rod, and a large deck of Spell Cards.

Reimu was already exiting the shrine when Kasen talked to her again. "Reimu… please don't take any offense to this, but I don't know if you're up to this task..."

"I don't care what you think I can and cannot do, hermit!" Reimu stopped and snapped at Kasen.

The hermit stood up as well. "You didn't let me finish. The person who did this is evidently quite strong, perhaps strong enough to defeat you if you go alone. I would highly recommend you find some help, lest you end up another victim."

"And who would that be?"

"Well, people associated with those who have gone missing, of course. But, I already know of one person who is very interested in solving this, and they're very close by. You should talk to her..."

Reimu simply glanced quizzically at Kasen, not knowing who she might be referring to.

Kasen waited for her to get the hint, but gave up after a few seconds.

"I meant myself, Reimu," Kasen sighed, "because I happen to have a stake in this little incident… my Ibaraki Box of a Hundred Medicines has been stolen. It's… quite important to me, as you might know."

Reimu froze. She thought she saw Kasen glance at her bandaged arm after saying that, but she couldn't be sure.

Kasen glared at Reimu. "Well? Are we going to solve this, or not? I… We don't have forever."

Reimu nodded. "You said I should find people who are close to those who have been kidnapped… then, let's go to the Scarlet Devil Mansion. You said both Sakuya and Remilia have vanished, correct?"

Kasen affirmed this, and the two of them set off.

* * *

Meanwhile, hidden deep within the Forest of Magic, many missing people and items were being brought to a small, hastily constructed hut by a pair of girls. The leader was dressed in black and white with blonde hair. She had a rambunctious personality. Her sidekick wore blue and white with similar blonde hair. As opposed to the former, this girl was much more reserved, nearly to the point of introversion.

"Oi, would you mind helping me out a bit? I'm gonna drop these Eientei vials any moment now, and I really do not want to go back there to get some more. I can't believe I managed to swipe these without alerting more than just Reisen…"

"Can't you see that I'm lugging the maid? I'm really not cut out for this kind of work… I can't believe you made me do this. At least we've got some help, or we'd be here for the rest of your life."

"Just put her down, would you? It's not like she's gonna be waking up any time soon..."

"Fine."

"There, that's much better… and come on, I didn't make you do a single thing. If I remember right, you were the one who volunteered to help."

"Well, I didn't think that helping you get a stupid servant would involve all this… Reimu will beat us to a pulp when she figures this out, all because you just have to have your own unique slave-type spell card. Besides, it kind of seems like you're already making a servant out of me."

The leader turned to the subordinate. "Hey, that's not all! I want actual servants who won't talk back to me. Like your dolls, but cooler. These items may help us out with that. And come on, you know what you're getting out of this. I think you can agree that it's worth it."

"Well, it's true that I have been looking for a method for quite some time, but… is this really necessary?"

"You seemed to think so when you agreed to the plan."

"Whatever. Can we at least finish dragging all these things into the hut, first?"

With a nod, the leader brought the concoctions into the small house, with the follower close behind. There were several small rooms within, each of them containing an unconscious victim or two, along with some basic supplies and two beds in a larger main room.

"Alright," said the leader, "let's put these down and finish dragging in Sakuya and Remilia. Then we can have the tea your little helpers made."

"I deserve it, at this point…" the other grumbled.

Heading back outside, the duo dragged in the maid and her mistress, the vampire.

"I'm surprised you were able to take these two out in succession." commented the second. "You're tough, yes, but the lady of the Scarlet Devil Mansion and her servant? I'm impressed."

"It was pretty rough… if Patchouli was awake when I broke into the library, she would have fought me, and she was probably only asleep 'cause of her, uhh… sickliness, I guess you could call it? Anyways, I was already so tired from those two that she would have taken me out instantly." The leader pointed to Sakuya and Remilia as she said this. "So it's thanks to that frail librarian that I managed to pull off this heist."

"You know, you could have called for a little support…"

"Psssh. We agreed that I would be the one to do the thievery; that's my style, after all. You're the brains of this outfit."

"I'm the brains? These are your plans. Besides, I'm the one doing as you say…"

"And all of my plans were based on your advice! And now you're helping me carry them out."

"Heh… I guess I'm giving myself orders, then? Isn't the leader supposed to relegate the grunt work to their minions?"

"No, that's what you do."

Both of them shared a laugh at this remark, as they finished bringing in their kidnapped victims. They took care to put them in the correct rooms; this specific part of the plan had been changed many times before its final state.

"Now," the leader said, sitting down, "we've just gotta wait until Satori wakes up. Then it's time to win her over… I'll leave that to you, Miss Manipulator."

"What did you call me? 'Miss Manipulator'? I suppose it's not inaccurate… but I'm not sure if I'm up to the task. I'm not as, ah, forceful as you are…" the other also took a chair and a sip of tea.

"D'aww, you'll be fine. After you ask her some questions, make some demands… then you won't have to do any more work! I'll be the one making sure she doesn't try to pull anything and escape. Or…"

Just then, both of them heard a quiet moan from one of their makeshift cells. Specifically, it was the one farthest from the entrance to the hut.

The leader smirked. "And here I was, thinking I was gonna enjoy some tea. Looks like one of our prisoners interrupted that before I could even get started! Let's see… the final room? That would be Reisen, if I remember right."

The supporter shook her head, while standing up and pushing in her chair. "Reisen is in the second farthest. Satori is in that one. Which means it's time for the meat of our plan to go into action. It also means I get to negotiate with a mind-reader. Oh, joy."

The duo entered the cell, which was occupied solely by Satori Komeiji. Satori, named for her youkai species, was a resident of Former Hell; she was the head of the Palace of Earth Spirits. The Third Eye attached to her like some sort of external organ gave her the ability to read minds, but it also made her hated by anyone who had a thought process for her to follow.

The prisoner slowly looked up at her captors. An expression of shock was evident on her face as she recognized one of them.

"It can't… you… what are you doing? What do you want from me?" Satori quietly addressed the leader of the pair of captors, who then squatted down right next to her.

"I won't be doing anything… For now, anyways. It'll be my friend you're going to talk to. As for what I want… you tell me!"

Satori adhered to the request and focused on reading the leader's mind as well as she could; she still wasn't completely awake from her state of unconsciousness. "You want a servant? But not me… you mean, you want to know how to make one for yourself..."

"That's the long and short of it; guess I'll explain in further detail later. Let's just say it's pretty elaborate." The leader stood up. "Now, I'll be taking my leave, 'cause I've got some tea to drink."

She turned around and walked out of the room. Satori, still confused, started to stand up. The other girl, who she didn't recognize, glared at her. A girl wearing blue and white, with blonde hair…

The leader started yelling from outside Satori's room. "Hey, uhh… You want me to bring you some of your tea, Alice?"

Alice broke eye contact with Satori. "Yes, Marisa. I'll have a doll bring it over, though."

Marisa brought the tea over to Alice anyways. Looking in through the doorway, Marisa teased, "Don't worry, Satori. We don't want too much from you. But we do need you to do some things for us…"

The door closed, leaving just Satori and Alice.

The subordinate to Marisa shook her head. "I don't understand how she thinks sometimes. Rest assured, though, she's right. We don't want to hurt you, or anything like that."

"So she does want to have her own servants," Satori commented, "but how do I work into this nasty conspiracy? You won't be getting my pets."

Alice frowned. "No, Satori. I disagree with some of her methods, but-"

"She wants me… to work alongside you two? As an interrogator…"

This time, Alice smiled cheerfully. "I'm glad you understand, and I hope you have no issues with that. Like I said, we don't want to have to use force, but if we must…" The smile changed from one of happiness to a more menacing version, and Alice produced a small formation of dolls armed with lances and swords to back it up.

"Make your choice, Satori."


	2. Chapter 2: A Mansion on the Lake

Reimu felt a surge of energy course through her as she left the ground. Since it had been awhile, she felt quite excited to be solving another incident. Lifting off in front of her shrine, Reimu's thoughts turned to anyone who might be a potential culprit for this incident.

"Hmm… a thief… has to be pretty strong… I'd say Marisa, but she was one of the kidnapped ones…"

Kasen, flying right behind her, was also pondering the circumstances of the incident. She thought to herself, "I wonder… what is the connection between the people taken? Is it simply that they were in the way of the thief, or is there something else?"

Reimu suddenly turned back to Kasen. "I think I've got an idea as to who our target is. I think you've heard of her, Kasen. She's caused a stir here before… Seija Kijin. She fits the bill exactly! Remember when she used all those cheating items while she was wanted? She's probably mounting another revolution plot with more stuff!"

"You may be right, Reimu." Kasen evidently did know of the amanojaku who had caused trouble multiple times. "But, as I said, we need to go to the Scarlet Devil Mansion first. While Seija is a possibility, we can't assume she's behind this until we get some form of lead. It wouldn't do for us to go after her, only for her to be uninvolved, would it?"

Reimu hesitated before nodding.

"I know that you tend to take a more… aggressive… approach to solving incidents. But the one behind the incident doesn't appear to be playing by the rules, so I'm afraid that there may be lives in the balance this time. It might be wise to consider facts rather than charging into bad situations like you always do."

While the shrine maiden didn't appreciate the critique, she knew that Kasen was right. Especially if Marisa was out there somewhere, being held hostage.

After reaching Misty Lake, by which the Scarlet Devil Mansion stood, Reimu stopped. Kasen flew up beside her, gazing out over the lake.

"Why have we stopped, Reimu?"

Kasen got a quick look and a smile for an answer. "I need to warm up. Don't want to be rusty, do I? And I just so happen to know a certain little fairy that would make fine target practice lives around here."

Kasen didn't see the need for this initially; wasn't time of the essence? But she realized that it was probably for the best. After all, Reimu had spent more time lying down than actually practicing her abilities since the end of the last incident. Actually, she'd spent no time practicing.

Kasen sighed and followed. She was prepared for solving this incident, of course. She was always prepared for combat, or so she thought. Then how, she wondered, did she manage to let her precious Ibaraki Box of a Hundred Medicines get stolen? Was she not as vigilant as she thought?

Reimu seemed to find her target nearly immediately. Flying near the surface of the waters of misty lake was Cirno, the Ice Fairy, self-proclaimed strongest fairy in Gensokyo. Cirno appeared to be harassing other fairies on the lakefront; she was so invested in this bullying that she didn't notice the shrine maiden appear behind her.

After waiting a while for Cirno's ranting to end, which it never did, Reimu groaned and spoke to get Cirno's attention. "You, Cirno."

Cirno turned around, puffing out her chest. "Who do you think you are? I am the stro-!" Cirno's confidence quickly evaporated when she realized she was looking at Reimu, and not another fairy.

Kasen, watching from afar, couldn't help but chuckle at the fairy's antics. Perhaps it would be fine for the shrine maiden to put Cirno in her place.

Cirno recomposed herself. "I am the strongest! Even you, shrine maiden, are no match for me! Allow me to demonstrate my mighty Spell Cards and ice powers!"

"That was easy enough." Reimu shrugged. "Alright, Cirno. How much have you improved? It's not like you could have gotten any worse at this…"

Cirno started pouting in response. "You say all those mean things. Nobody likes you!" Pausing a moment, a smirk returned to Cirno's face. "I'll show you just how strong a fairy can be!"

Cirno backed up and started firing bluish projectiles in the general direction of Reimu. Most of them flew harmlessly away, and the few that were on-target were dodged easily by Reimu. Reimu, who hadn't even started attacking yet, slowly lifted up her purification rod, pointing at Cirno, before bringing it down and producing a set of ofuda - special amulets designed to exterminate youkai. She didn't even throw that many before several of them found their mark on the small ice fairy.

"Yowch!" Cirno shrieked. "Fine… you got me there. But can you beat this? Ice Sign 'Icicle Fall'!"

Cirno began to shoot out large icicles at Reimu, which Reimu again dodged with ease by flying in close to Cirno.

Cirno's spell card ended quickly. Reimu, disappointed, decided it would be best to end the duel as soon as possible. She sent out a fast, basically continuous stream of ofuda aimed right at the small fairy, who bore a grimace from having her Spell Card broken so easily.

"Okay, you're going all-out on me! But, I haven't even used all of my power yet!" The boastful fairy allowed the line of ofuda to get extremely close to her before suddenly lifting up both of her arms.

"What is the fairy doing?" Thought Kasen to herself, watching the battle from the side. "Oh, I understand…"

The amulets about to hit Cirno literally froze in place as they hit an area of extreme cold surrounding Cirno's body. Then, all of the ofuda that touched the already frozen ones froze themselves, until ice began creeping up Reimu's constant stream towards the shrine maiden. Reimu, who had no problems up to this point in the fight, wasn't even properly paying attention to the fairy's counterattack.

The ice had made it all the way to Reimu before she started to notice. By then, Cirno had forcefully shattered the ice, destroying all of the ofuda Reimu had sent at Cirno and hurting Reimu herself in the process.

"Ow!" Reimu exclaimed, not expecting such a devious tactic from Cirno of all people. "How did I get hit? You're gonna get it now!"

Kasen, still watching from the sidelines, shook her head. Now that Reimu was angry, she'd beat Cirno, and then keep attacking unnecessarily to avenge her embarrassment; alternatively, she'd start making a bunch of stupid mistakes and actually lose in her hotheadedness.

"Of course, it falls to me to keep Reimu in check," the hermit muttered.

While Cirno tried to press her temporary advantage against Reimu, Kasen sent a small amount of powerful light blue orbs at the ice fairy. With incredible precision, all of them found their unprepared target, knocking her into the water of Misty Lake. After going under for a moment, Cirno rose to the surface, flailing. She evidently didn't know how to swim. It didn't concern Kasen, though - fairies just revive after a little bit of time if they die, so even if Cirno drowned she'd just pop up again and be fine.

Reimu turned to Kasen and accusatorily yelled, "Hey! I was beating her! Killjoy."

Kasen closed her eyes and shrugged. "We need to get a move on. Besides, to me it looked like she was giving you a run for your money." Kasen paused for a moment, before adding teasingly, "If you had any, that is."

Reimu turned away and lifted up her chin. "If I weren't working with you, I'd beat you right now. You'd better watch yourself, Kasen. Anyways, the Mansion is right there. Let's go."

The two of them flew towards the Scarlet Devil Mansion and landed in front of the gate. Oddly, the usual gatekeeper, Hong Meiling, wasn't there.

"Well, that's not something you see often." Reimu remarked. "She typically stands right here. Even if she's sleeping on the job… She must be inside. Probably helping contain that demon child, Flandre, now that Sakuya and Remilia are gone."

Kasen and Reimu walked into the Mansion without knocking on the huge front doors. Knowing that the only important people left in the mansion were probably Meiling, the librarian Patchouli Knowledge and her assistant, Koakuma, and Flandre, the vampiric younger sister of Remilia, Reimu made her way to the library. She remembered the way from an incident a while back, as well as having been invited here multiple times. Kasen, however, did not know the way, so she simply followed the shrine maiden, taking in the surroundings in the large Western-styled mansion.

Entering the library, the first thing the pair heard was childish laughter.

"Uh-oh…" Reimu said.

"What's wrong, Reimu?"

"That sounded like Flandre. I don't think you've met her, Kasen. She's… a handful. Just try to be patient with her, and whatever you do, don't offer to play with her!"

The two slowly made their way down the stairs to the main floor of the expansive library. They heard more laughter, followed by a much more adult voice yelling.

"Get back here, Flandre! It's time to eat, not time to play!"

Reimu, now at the bottom of the stairs, explained to Kasen. "That was probably Patchouli. She's the librarian here, a friend of Remilia's. She stays cooped up in here all day, since she has some sort of condition that keeps her from doing too much physical activity. She's probably in charge, with Remilia out."

Walking between the large bookshelves, they heard the laughs get louder. Kasen looked at Reimu, and noticed a worried expression on Reimu's face.

"Oh, she can't be that-" Reimu suddenly put her hand over Kasen's mouth and indicated for her to keep quiet.

Flandre appeared to be moving ever closer to them, as they stood hidden in the shadow of a bookshelf. By now, they heard her laughter surrounding them in the dimly lit library.

Suddenly, Kasen felt something bump into her. Jerking around suddenly, she saw nothing - until she looked down.

"Who are you?" came the innocent voice of a small childlike figure.

Reimu suddenly leapt into action. Practically shoving Kasen into the bookshelf, Reimu leapt between the hermit and the small girl.

"Oh, it's Reimu! Who's this person?" Flandre motioned at Kasen, grinning, revealing sharp, pointed teeth.

Kasen regained her balance and stood next to Reimu. "I'm Kasen Ibaraki. I'm a friend of Reimu's!"

"Oh, a friend?" Flandre started jumping up and down, clapping her hands. "Yay! More playmates!"

Reimu spoke up. "We aren't here to play, Flandre. Sorry. Do you know where Patchouli is?"

Flandre opened her mouth to speak, but someone else ran up behind her, interrupting her.

"There you are, Flan! I get that you want to play, but right now, it's time to eat!"

Flandre turned around to look at the newcomer, whose eyes shifted from the little vampire to the two larger people behind her.

She assumed a fighting stance. "Who are you two, and what are you doing with Flandre? I'll make you leave, intruders!"

"Peace, Meiling. We're here to speak with Patchouli." Kasen stepped forward and spoke up. Reimu glanced quizzically at Kasen, who ignored her.

The girl, dressed mostly in olive green, didn't move at all. "Firstly, how do you know my name? And secondly, what are you doing with Flandre, then?"

Reimu intended to speak, but was cut off by Kasen. "I'm acquainted with Reimu Hakurei. We both came here because we want to speak with Patchouli about the absences. As for this little one," pointing at Flandre now, "she happened to bump into us."

Meiling finally eased herself into a regular standing position. "Reimu? Alright. I'll take you to Patchouli promptly, but don't get any ideas. As for you, young lady…" The gatekeeper grabbed Flandre's arm. "You're coming back to the table to eat, whether you like it or not."

"Aww… our game of tag is over already?" Flandre whimpered. "Fine…"

Kasen just noticed that the small girl in front of her had a strange pair of wings sprouting from her back. They looked almost like tree branches with eight crystals dangling from them. Each crystal was a different color, and they were ordered like the rainbow, starting with blue and ending with blue. She wondered why Flandre's wings were so… artificial looking?

Meiling spoke again, taking Flandre by the hand and leading Reimu and Kasen through the library. "Alright. Patchouli is seated at a table on the far end of the library, along with her assistant, Koakuma. She was going to chase after Flandre here, but I warned her not to overexert herself. As for the, ah, disappearances, I don't know much about them, but perhaps Patchy is a bit more… knowledgeable. Pardon the pun, I had to…"

The four of them began to walk in silence, until Reimu whispered to Kasen.

"Why did you start talking there? You could have made things worse!"

"What? You weren't exactly communicating very well yourself, Reimu. You were the one that pushed me into a bookshelf."

"You're lucky Meiling showed up and Flandre didn't get the chance to 'play' with us."

"What, her? She doesn't look…"

"Looks can be deceiving, Kasen. You know that."

Kasen was taken aback by this. What was Reimu referring to? Was she actually… onto Kasen's secret?

Reimu continued. "Flandre is one of the toughest opponents I've had the displeasure of facing in battle. She's lived locked up in a basement her whole life, about 495 years, only coming out every once in awhile for meals or lessons. You wanna know why? The girl is unstable. Mentally and emotionally. And she has more power than she knows what to do with."

Kasen looked genuinely surprised. Was this truly the same girl she had just met?

"Her ability is to instantly destroy anything. Permanently. She used this power to crush a meteor once, without even touching it. The problem is, since she's been stuck in a room her whole life, she doesn't know how to control herself or this power very well. Because she can't control it, she's forced to stay in the room… it's a cycle, and I have a feeling it won't end well for anyone. And, as you are aware, she's a vampire. She does have a taste for human blood, and a much bigger appetite than her older sister. They try to help her control the urges for humans with steak, but it only works so well."

"Well then, it seems like we got lucky, hmm?"

"You're awfully nonchalant about running into a little maniac, Kasen."

"I've met many people who could be considered maniacs. Like Koishi. Or you, when you're solving an incident." Kasen slyly winked.

Reimu would have defended herself loudly and vehemently, but instead ignored this out of respect to Meiling, who hadn't yet heard anything from their conversation. In fact, the gatekeeper seemed to be having a nice chat with Flandre.

Kasen looked at the two in front of her and smiled pleasantly. "You say she's crazy, Reimu, but it seems she's comfortable with Meiling here. It does me good to know that she has supportive figures in her life, if what you said about her living situation is true. And as for you, if you didn't have Marisa and myself keeping you in line..." Kasen threw in another tease at Reimu.

Reimu was again flustered, and decided she wasn't going to just take it.

"Now you listen here, hermit. Just because you think you're better than me doesn't mean you can go around and act all uppity about it. Besides, don't pretend like you don't have your own issues."

Meiling and Flandre looked back at the now silent Kasen and Reimu, wide-eyed. Meiling then quickly faced forward again and yanked on Flandre's wrist, to suggest her to do the same. The little girl was still staring at the guests, but snapped out of her daze and continued walking. The damage from Reimu's defense was already done, however.

"We're, uhh, almost there…" Meiling announced, with the tension still palpable in the air.

Reimu scowled at Kasen, who was by now starting to feel bad for teasing. If they were already bickering, what would the rest of the incident be like?

The whole group entered a clearing in the dark library, with a lone table in the middle. Already seated at this table were two girls. One of them was dressed in a mostly white nightgown with a white mob cap. She had very long purple hair and her sleepy-looking face was deep in a book, not noticing the approaching group. The other was a much more active looking girl with medium-length red hair. She wore a black dress with white sleeves, and had two sets of wings, one pair on her back and another, smaller pair sprouting from her head. She was trying to get the attention of the one in the nightgown, but was failing. She gave up and snatched the book out of her hands, inspiring a disgusted glance.

"Koakuma, what do you think you're doing? When is it ever okay to take a book from someone you serve while they're reading it?" the purple-haired girl criticized the red-haired girl, but in a manner that retained an element of lethargy.

The other was quick to respond. "But lady Patchouli, we have guests, and you didn't notice!"

Patchouli looked up at the group of Meiling, Flandre, Reimu, and Kasen.

"Ah, my apologies. Put the book back on the table, though. And don't lose my place this time!" Patchouli seemed to be quite exacting in her expectations of Koakuma. "Well, it seems we have guests. Reimu, and…? Oh, I don't believe we've met before. Well, please, take a seat. You can introduce yourself then."

Reimu and Kasen waited for Meiling and Flandre to sit down before they followed suit.

Kasen introduced herself. "I am Kasen Ibaraki, a simple hermit living near the base of Youkai Mountain. I am friends with the shrine maiden here."

"Well then, it's a pleasure to meet you, Kasen. Now, let's get straight to the point. Oh, and Meiling, would you make sure Flandre eats this time?"

Flandre pouted. "But I don't like it! I want Sakuya's cooking! This stuff is gross."

Patchouli waved her hand and faced Reimu and Kasen. "She's been like this at every meal since Sakuya vanished. Speaking of which, that's why you're here, isn't it? That's the logical reason, anyways."

Reimu nodded. "Yes, as you seem to be aware. There have been lots of disappearances across Gensokyo, of powerful individuals such as Sakuya and Remilia. Lots of these missing people's possessions seem to have gone with them as well."

Patchouli reclined in her chair, sighed, and stared at the ceiling. "Yes, that's what happening. I don't quite understand it, but I do know what's happened. I also know that you aren't entirely right."

Reimu and Kasen were taken aback by this. "What do you mean, we aren't entirely right?" Reimu wondered.

"It's not necessarily the people who have vanished that have had their things stolen. In this case, Sakuya and Remilia have been taken, and it's my books that are gone."

Kasen considered this for a moment, before asking, "What sort of books were stolen? Are you aware?"

Patchouli nodded. "Most of the purloined books were on animation magic. There were also some about Spell Cards stolen as well, and one was a guide on how to be an effective workplace manager."

"Uhh… Is there anything else that you noticed? Did you happen to see anything related to the perpetrator?" Kasen continued.

Patchouli looked down and started playing with her nightgown. "I'm ashamed to say, I was asleep at the time of the theft. You may or may not know this, but I have a condition that makes me tire easily, called anemia. I fell asleep while reading a book on youkai of the Underworld, and when I woke up, there was a mess of books strewn across the floor. I had Koakuma, my assistant here, put the books back. That was when I was made aware that many were missing. As for any evidence of who might have done this, I have not seen anything indicating who might be the culprit. That is, except for a small strip of black fabric Meiling found in the foyer of the mansion, which I assume is where the thief and Sakuya fought, as there were multiple knives across the room. Sakuya, of course, does not have any black in her maid outfit at all, so it's certainly from the intruder."

"Black fabric, huh?" Reimu spoke after a little while of listening. "Well, I guess that it's better than nothing. A lot of people in Gensokyo wear the same style of clothing exclusively, so I suppose that narrows our search at least a little bit to people with black in their clothing."

"That's not exactly helpful, Reimu. If you were a thief causing an incident, would you want to dress in clothing that everyone knows you tend to wear? Of course not. You'd wear something that nobody could identify you in." Kasen thought logically.

"So, in short, aside from knowing what books were stolen, we have no leads." Reimu sighed and sunk in her chair with a look of defeat on her face.

Kasen was a little more optimistic. "Well, there are always other places we can investigate. I was thinking we should try Eientei next."

Reimu stood up and pushed in her chair, so Kasen followed suit. They quickly thanked Patchouli for her generosity in hosting them, before Kasen realized that the pair had almost forgot what they came for.

"Oh, I just remembered," Kasen said, looking at the librarian, "I want to speak with you about a certain matter here in particular, Patchouli. I was wondering… could you perhaps, well, spare someone? Reimu and I have determined that we will need all the help we can get in solving this incident."

Upon hearing this, Patchouli's face lit up. "I thought you'd never ask. You know, it's been a long while since I've been out… and I have a mind to teach the mastermind behind this incident what a kidnapper deserves."

Reimu was surprised to see such passion from the typically stoic Patchouli. "So you'll join us? Excellent."

Meiling had heard this, and reentered the conversation. "Umm, don't take this the wrong way, but who will be in charge of the Mansion now?"

Patchouli, who was standing up out of her chair, smiled. "Why, you, Meiling. But in case you feel overwhelmed, I've thought ahead. A little while back, I was working on certain… defensive maneuvers in case something happened to the us at the mansion. I anticipated that responsibilities may fall to you in one of these scenarios, and I developed a list of things for you to make sure happen around the mansion. This knowledge has been imparted to Koakuma, who can outline the list for you, or you can read physical manuscripts about your duties if you'd like; they're located in the top drawer of the desk in my study."

Meiling was caught off guard by Patchouli's incredible foresight.

"I'm not expecting you to be able to do everything on that list. But please, Meiling, do not take these duties lightly. Don't slack off on the job. And take good care of Flandre."

With that, Patchouli slowly floated over to Reimu and Kasen. "I have everything I need on me already, so let's make haste."

Reimu nodded, not surprised by this, and motioned for the trio to leave the mansion. Kasen followed her, and Patchouli moved after her. Looking back at Meiling, Koakuma, and Flandre, Patchouli smiled again and waved. Her goodbye suggested she would be out for quite a while, which made it seem as if she knew this incident would not be so simple to solve.


	3. Chapter 3: A Hospital in a Forest

Three girls left the Scarlet Devil Mansion: the shrine maiden in red and white, Reimu Hakurei, the hermit with the bandaged arm, Kasen Ibaraki, and the wise librarian of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Patchouli Knowledge.

"Say, Patchouli." Reimu said, still thinking back on their conversation in the mansion's library. "It's not like you to get so fired up about anything. And for you to want to take an active role in solving an incident? The last time you went out for an incident was, what, back when the weather was all crazy thanks to that celestial?"

"And?" Patchouli quietly retorted. "My books were stolen. I intend to get them back. Besides, I think I could be a valuable member of your team. Obviously, you're an aggressive fighter, Reimu…"

Reimu couldn't disagree with that notion.

"...And from what I have heard, the hermit tends to use hand to hand combat, much like Meiling."

Kasen nodded in agreement.

"What your team is currently lacking is someone who can take a more defensive role, if that makes sense, which I prefer to fill, thanks to my physical conditions. By this I mean a strategist. Furthermore, my time in the library has given me some knowledge that could prove indispensable to your cause."

Reimu smirked. "Okay, I get it. You want to come because you want to show off how smart you are. That's fine, even if it isn't the purest of motives."

Patchouli was not nearly as susceptible to getting angry at teasing as Reimu was, so she brushed this off and suggested they get a move on to Eientei.

The three left the ground in front of the Scarlet Devil Mansion and headed southwest to Eientei, located deep within the Bamboo Forest of the Lost.

* * *

After a short flight with no interruptions, Reimu, Kasen, and Patchouli arrived at the entrance to the Bamboo Forest of the Lost.

"Now comes the tricky part." Reimu announced for the group to hear. "They don't call this place the Bamboo Forest of the Lost for nothing. Let's not get separated once we enter. With any luck, we'll run into Fujiwara no Mokou. She's been living in this forest for a long time and serves as a guide of sorts. If we don't run into her… we may be in here, stumbling around for awhile."

The group entered the dark, dense forest. It was still day, but one could almost mistake it as nighttime. The entrance to the forest had a path, but the further into the forest it wound, the more it was overtaken by bamboo stalks, until there was finally no path at all. It was at this point when Reimu stopped, and the other two stopped with her.

"I made it about this far before I ran into Marisa during the Imperishable Night incident… let's see. I fought with her for awhile right about here, before she fled. Umm… I think I chased her in that direction? That seems about right… But, I'm not sure. All I know is that Yukari and I stumbled across Eientei once we defeated her."

Reimu was lost in thought regarding the location of Eientei. The other two were patiently waiting for her to decide which way to go, when they heard a voice calling from somewhere in the thickets of bamboo around them. All three of the girls' heads turned toward the source of this sound, who emerged from the stalks of bamboo to the end of the trail, where Reimu, Kasen, and Patchouli were still standing.

To the trio's disappointment, it was not the Fujiwara no Mokou Reimu had mentioned prior, nor was it anyone from Eientei. Instead, they found themselves facing a single girl with long black hair. She wore an elegant multi colored dress that reached the ground; it was mostly white and red, with black at the bottom of the dress, at the collar, and the ends of the sleeves. She had odd dog-like ears poking out of her hair, and her fingernails were extremely long and sharpened to a point, like talons or claws.

"Oh my, what have we here? A group of three girls wandering the Bamboo Forest at dusk? Surely you know tonight is the night of the full moon. The youkai here in the forest will be quite active, and likely aggressive."

Reimu looked up at the sky. "Dusk already? We've been walking for that long? And what's this about the full moon? I can't even tell..." Reimu paused. "Wait. I know you."

The clawed girl bore a pleased expression. "So the shrine maiden does remember me, it seems. But for the other two, I am Kagerou Imaizumi, a werewolf. And like I said, tonight's the night of the full moon, and it's dusk already. I wonder when I'll transform…? Perhaps while we're holding this conversation!"

"It's not the night of the full moon, though. I keep astronomical records. It's only a waxing gibbous tonight." Patchouli stepped towards Kagerou and shook her head. "So you aren't actually going to transform. What is the meaning of suggesting you were?"

"Hmhmm~ you got me." The werewolf giggled. "I wanted to see your reaction, that's all. Trust me, though, I don't intend to attack you, or anything like that. I'm pretty gentle! Not just by werewolf standards, mind you."

Reimu, who was prepared for battle, returned to a slightly more relaxed stance. She still looked on edge, though. "Okay. So we run into Kagerou the friendly werewolf at night, and she just wants to play a little practical joke on us? I don't think so. What do you really want?"

Kagerou giggled again. "What do you think? I have great hearing, you know. I couldn't help but overhear you wondering about which way to go to Eientei. Well, as a friendly resident of this forest, let me help some lost travelers!"

"Kasen? You're good with animals. Can't you, like, confirm if she's telling the truth or not?" Reimu rolled her eyes towards the hermit, who had a distant, blank expression, not paying attention to the conversation.

Kasen was jolted from her daze in an instant. "What? Oh, umm... I can communicate with beast youkai. But I don't need to in this case - she's definitely telling the truth. Can't you tell?"

Reimu shrugged, and Patchouli with her. Kasen sighed. "Maybe it is my ability. Regardless. She intends to help us, and we're standing here needing help. Why would we not accept?"

"This 'Kasen' understands! I can show you the way to Eientei. And between you and me, Mokou has been in a pretty sour mood lately, so you'd probably want me as a guide instead of her…" Kagerou winked, still with a pleasant tone.

And so, Kagerou motioned for the three to follow her. And follow her they did, moving at a leisurely pace through the dark forest.

Finally, after about fifteen minutes, the party reached their destination of Eientei.

"Oh, that was a tiring walk…" groaned Patchouli, earning her an inquisitive glance from Kagerou, who did not know about Patchouli's sickly nature.

"This is where I leave you." Kagerou waved. Pointing at Kasen, she continued. "I guess you're here because of your arm. Well, good luck with the healing process. The folks in Eientei are medical experts, so you'll be in good hands."

That was not the reason the group was there, of course, but Kasen realized it made a good excuse for entry should they be questioned for any reason, and decided not to say anything. While Kasen did appreciate the concern from the werewolf, there was nothing the people of Eientei could do to heal her arm…

Kagerou waved and bid farewell again, and disappeared into the night. After she was gone, the remaining three made their way into the secluded manor, hospital, and pharmacy in one, Eientei.

* * *

They were immediately greeted by a girl seated behind a counter. Reimu recognized this particular individual as Tewi Inaba, the Earth Rabbit of good fortune, who was now apparently working in the receptionist. The trio walked over to Tewi.

"So, who will need medical assistance tonight? Oh, and by the way, hi, Miss Reimu!" asked Tewi.

Reimu and Patchouli looked at each other, trying to think of some excuse to come up with, when Kasen stepped between them and motioned to her bandaged right arm. "That would be me… I was attacked by a vicious youkai near the Forest of Magic. I managed to get away, but I think I broke my arm in the process… please, if I could see the doctor as soon as possible..." Kasen added in a wince of pain when she lifted her arm for the receptionist to see, to add to the effect.

"Oh, my… alright, miss, I'll need your name, species, and injury written on this sheet…" Tewi placed a paper attached to a clipboard on the counter in front of her. "If you can't write it yourself, someone else in your group can write it down for you." Tewi then produced an ink pen. Reimu reached out for it and jotted down the necessary information before handing the clipboard back to the rabbit receptionist: "Kasen Ibaraki, Human, broken arm".

"Please, take a seat over there in the lobby. Miss Yagokoro should be able to get to you within thirty minutes."

With that, the three sat down in the surprisingly empty lobby. Reimu turned to Kasen and whispered with a disbelieving tone, "Wow! Are you sure you aren't an actor in a Noh play or something? I almost believed you myself!"

Kasen, still keeping up the appearance in case the receptionist looked up from her desk behind the counter, shrugged and said "I had to do something while you two stood there without any clue what to say."

Reimu was still beside herself with amazement. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you do this quite a lot! But, you're too prideful to drag yourself down to our lowly level, aren't you?" The shrine maiden winked, almost knowingly, while teasing Kasen, which unsettled the hermit deeply. She could never tell what Reimu really knew about her secrets…

* * *

Thirty minutes passed, and Eirin Yagokoro finally showed herself to the trio of incident solvers. She was dressed in a red and navy blue dress with a constellation pattern on it, with a hat of the same shade of blue that was like those of a nurse's uniform. She had long, shimmery braided silver hair, but she didn't appear to be very old, even though she was. This was an effect of the Hourai Elixir she produced and subsequently drank - a concoction that grants complete and total immortality to whoever uses it. She exuded calmness, intelligence, and perhaps even a motherly aura, because she acted as a protector to the legendary Princess Kaguya of the Lunar Kingdom, and was one of the most well known Lunarians herself. She took a look at the group and was surprised to see Reimu Hakurei and Patchouli Knowledge among them; she of course knew Reimu from the Imperishable Night incident, and Patchouli authored multiple books on magic that Eirin owned. As for the third, Eirin thought she looked vaguely familiar, but couldn't remember from where she might know her.

"Kasen Ibaraki, Human! Let's get that arm looked at." Eirin called in the general direction of Kasen.

Kasen, Reimu, and Patchouli stood up and followed Eirin. The doctor led them down a seemingly endless hallway and into a room with pristine white walls and floors.

"Please take a seat on the table, Kasen. As for the others, you can sit at the chairs." Eirin walked over to the door and shut it, leaving the four of them in the white room. "By the by, good to see you, Reimu, Patchouli."

The two nodded when spoken to and allowed the doctor to speak with Kasen.

"So, you have a broken arm, Miss Kasen? Please, allow me to take a look at it."

Kasen, who was seated on the table, stood up.

"Oh, apologies, you don't have to stand up. I'll go over there. Here, sit down so I can take off these bandages and get a good look at it." Eirin spoke with a very soothing voice to the hermit, walking over to her.

Kasen did not budge. She instead closed her eyes and crossed her arms. "We need to talk, Eirin."

Eirin was taken aback by the behavior of what she thought was a patient. She took a slight step back out of instinct, but when she did, Reimu and Patchouli stood as well. Eirin immediately assumed the worst.

"Whatever you're trying to pull on me, I won't allow it!" Eirin now sounded very intense and determined, demanding respect, or else. "I don't care if you're the Hakurei shrine maiden, or if I'm outnumbered! If you want a fight from me, you're going to get it!" Eirin seemed to start glowing, as if she was charging magical power, while she announced her intentions.

Kasen, keeping her eyes closed, grunted. "We aren't here to fight. We want to talk about a certain crime that was committed here."

Eirin, still battle-ready, finished her statement. "Do you mean the disappearance of Reisen and the theft of some of my elixirs?"

It was Patchouli's turn to speak. "Yes, Miss Yagokoro. As you likely know, similar reports have occurred all over Gensokyo. We'd like to ask you about your perspective on the events that happened here, if that's alright. This just happened to be the best way to get you alone so we could question you."

Eirin seemed to understand and stopped glowing. "Fine. I suppose we don't have many patients tonight, so I'll hear you out."

The four of them took seats, and Reimu began asking questions to the doctor of Eientei.

"Did you see the perpetrator?"

"I did not. I was busy tending to an urgent case that night. As far as I'm aware, none of the rabbits on staff here saw them either. But, on the night of the incident, Reisen was working behind the reception counter. It's likely that she saw something suspicious outside and went to check it out herself, which would explain why nobody saw where she went."

Patchouli cleared her throat. "Whoever we're dealing with here, they're an expert at this. They're stealing and kidnapping without many people noticing them, and those who do are defeated and vanish without a trace. The same thing happened at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, with Sakuya and Remilia vanishing. It really is quite troublesome."

Eirin nodded with a sad look on her face. "I should tell you something we found, and what was stolen. I'll start with what was stolen - a set of vials filled with advanced elixirs. Some of them are used to influence someone; as in, it numbs their mind, so to speak, effectively making them completely and unquestionably obedient to someone interacting to them. Another few vials contained a serum designed to energize things, which we often use when someone is emerging from the brink of death, or a coma, for instance. Then, there were the experimental ones, that give life itself onto things. They were intended to be used so as to bring someone dead completely back to life. I had spent nearly a year and a half perfecting the formula to those ones, and the whole set was stolen along with the recipe and my notes on the making of them. Then…"

Patchouli interjected. "I'm sorry to interrupt, Miss Yagokoro, but that interests me. See, there were multiple books stolen from my library relating to animation magic. This is just a guess, but I'd say our mastermind desires either to create life, or revive someone close to them. Why else would they steal items that relate to inspiring life in things?"

Eirin considered this for a moment, before returning with a question. "But what would they want with a potion that dulls minds and makes one always follow orders?"

Patchouli continued her theory. "I originally thought it was strange, but there was one other book at my library that was stolen that was unlike the rest. It was a book on managing a workplace, which was so out of line with the aim of the other stolen books that I dismissed it as an accident on the part of the thief. But now, I think I understand. The person behind this - and this is just an educated guess - they want to create some form of life, and then use their creation as some form of slave, likely to do their dirty work for them."

Reimu suddenly perked up. "That explains why some of the people are missing, too! One of those missing was Alice Margatroid. She makes and magically animates dolls, so maybe the mastermind wanted her expertise in making and controlling 'slaves', and they kidnapped her. And this makes sense for Shinmyoumaru Sukuna as well… her Miracle Mallet has created tsukumogami from inanimate objects before. It wouldn't surprise me if our new enemy wanted this power to be used again again, to make tsukumogami servants. Now that I think about it, this even applies for Satori Komeiji… she has many powerful pets that she controls, so maybe that's why she's vanished."

Everyone in the room was excited after what was probably a breakthrough in the incident, but Reimu in particular was ecstatic. She derived a lot of pleasure from solving incidents, so getting closer to finding the culprit lifted her spirits.

"Now, about something I found…" Eirin continued on, "I was quite surprised and intrigued when I found this. It's being stored in another room now, but inside my personal study, where some of the vials were stolen, there was a doll, laying on the ground, next to some shards of glass."

Reimu immediately recognized the significance of this. "So that means Alice was here. Or at least, someone using her dolls. Maybe she's being forced to steal by the culprit of this incident after being kidnapped?"

"Or, maybe she is part of causing this incident herself." Kasen proposed an alternate interpretation. "It doesn't seem likely that she'd want to steal books or potions about animating or bringing things to life for herself, as she can already do that. So what would her motive be? Perhaps she is being used, as Reimu suggested. Alternatively, she could be working with the mastermind, for some other purpose…"

Reimu considered this. "So you are saying that Alice may be behind this, or part of it? It's not like her to be so sloppy with her dolls, though. She's all about precision when manipulating them. My guess is that someone else was controlling them, who isn't as good at it. That would explain the broken glass. Maybe they brought the dolls to help them carry some of the potions they stole, but one of them dropped it because the thief isn't good at manipulating them."

Patchouli spoke up as well. "The doll dropped whichever drug it was holding, so the vial it was in shattered. I'd venture to say that the sound was quite loud and scared the thief; they thought someone might hear it, so they abandoned the doll and the broken glass and made a quick escape."

"That seems plausible enough. I'm very disappointed that all of my work on the experimental reanimation drug is gone, of course, but what worries me the most is the wellbeing of Reisen." Eirin had a saddened look in her eyes as she stared at the wall. "I certainly wish this incident would be resolved soon. I quite like Reisen… she's very dedicated. It isn't quite the same in Eientei without her."

Patchouli tried to comfort the doctor. "It's okay, I understand how you feel… it's been quite difficult at the mansion without Sakuya and Remilia. But, you know what? There's the three of us - Reimu, Kasen, and myself - and we're going to solve this incident as fast as we can, and return everything to you. So don't worry."

Eirin looked up at Patchouli, now with a slight smile on her face. She still looked sad, though. "Thanks. It means alot to me. But, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to help as well…"

This surprised the other three. Reimu was the first to speak. "To go with us? Don't you have to work here, though, Doctor?"

Eirin continued smiling. "It's true. I'm the most experienced one here. But I've been using Eientei as a hospital long enough that I've had other residents learn medicine themselves. The entire rabbit staff knows medical procedures, what to look at in patients, and so on, to varying extents. Even Lady Kaguya grew curious, and asked to learn something of medicine. I taught them this knowledge so I could have extra help when it got busy around here. But now, it seems it will prove useful If I'm to go with you…"

Reimu still had concerns. "Who says we need more help? Three people is quite enough. You're more needed here, no matter how well trained your staff is."

"Come on, Reimu, don't be rude, we could use all the help we can get too. If she believes it'll be fine here without her and feels her services are better used with us, who are we to stop her?" Kasen chided.

Eirin gave her own stance. "The way I see it, based on the very conclusion we reached earlier, there are quite possibly, even likely, multiple enemies. It makes sense that there should be multiple people solving the incident as well. It wouldn't be good if they outnumbered you when you confronted them, would it? Let me help, and reduce that risk. Besides, should anything happen to you in a battle along the way, as there will surely be multiple battles, it would be quite beneficial to have healing immediately available…"

Patchouli readily agreed with the doctor. "Eirin's right. I may even get to talk with her about solutions for my anemia…"

Eirin chuckled and spoke again. "And there you have it. Let me join, for the overall health of one of your teammates, Reimu."

Reimu couldn't argue after that. "Alright, then. You're with us, until the incident is resolved. Deal?"

"That's a deal." Eirin nodded and stood up. "It's getting late. While I'm aware that the incident is an urgent matter, I think it will be more difficult to solve if you're all tired and can't think straight. Why don't I lead you to a more suitable place to sleep?"

"That sounds wonderful," Kasen agreed.

So, the doctor led the three to an unoccupied room with several beds, apparently part of a rehabilitation ward.

After letting them enter, Eirin closed the door. With a new task ahead of her, she went to the personal quarters of Princess Kaguya.

Knocking on the door, Eirin exhaled slightly. This could go one of two ways: very, very well, or very, very poorly. Kaguya was susceptible to moodiness, after all. While she respected the Lunarian doctor, she was also unafraid to point to her royal status to get what she wants done. And if that meant that she would forbid Eirin from going to solve the incident, then Eirin would either have to act in direct conflict with the orders of the Princess and go out, or retain the trust of her mistress and not help, even though she already stated she would. If she played her cards the right way, though, she thought she may ensure Kaguya's good graces and support in resolving the incident.

Kaguya opened the door. "Ah, Eirin. Please, come in."

"There is a pressing matter I need to speak with you about, Lady Kaguya. It involves Reisen."

Kaguya was suddenly very attentive. She, too, was very concerned with the issue. "Please, if you have anything to say regarding Reisen, do so."

"Well, I was visited by a threesome of individuals trying to solve the case. Many other people and items have evidently been stolen away, so the situation is being viewed as a full-blown incident. Therefore, Reimu came in with two others to ask me about what I knew. And… while talking with them, we made a major breakthrough."

"You did? That's wonderful! Let's have it."

"We have discovered through combined evidence the motive of the instigator of this incident, which is to create life itself and use it as a slave. It's possible they want to create a personal army with this method."

"That sounds serious…"

"It is. Which is why… I was hoping to go with the three I mentioned before and help resolve the incident and get Reisen back."

Kaguya stared blankly at Eirin for what felt like an eternity. She finally started laughing, causing Eirin a bit of confusion.

"Hahaha, you're so silly when you get all serious-looking, Eirin! 'I was hoping to go with the three I mentioned before…' Pfffff! You looked like you were getting ready for a fight, or something! Of course you can help. I'll take care of the hospital part of Eientei while you're gone, of course. You can count on me. But if you have a plan to get Reisen back, by all means, go ahead. I suppose you're leaving in the morning?"

Eirin felt incredibly relieved with Kaguya's response. "Yes, my lady. Thank you for the support."

Kaguya waved it off. "It's the least I can do. I will always be indebted to you in a way, Eirin. Now, is that all you have for me?"

"Yes, my lady."

Kaguya turned around and walked over to her bed. "Then you are dismissed. Make me proud, Eirin!"

Eirin smiled to herself and headed to her own room for a night of rest before what would surely be a tiring search for the mastermind of the incident.

* * *

That night, Reimu found herself in a world she did not recognize.

There was a field of roses gently swaying in a pleasant wind, each one blossoming elegantly in the radiant sun. In the middle, a simple wooden house stood, surrounded by strange little animals frolicking among the fields of flowers. Reimu stood somewhere in the field of flowers, and moved closer to the house. As she did so, the roses all turned towards her, and the animals stopped playing, instead watching her. But she pressed onwards, and the roses began stabbing her with their thorns. She did not stop, though, and reached the house. She looked back at the field of roses, still facing her, and the animals, glaring, and then entered the house.

The inside of the house was as one would expect from a small, simple cottage, but nobody was within. There were two rooms. The first one was plainly decorated, with all the basic necessities of a house. The second one, however, was shrouded in a hazy smoke. Looking at the room from the outside, Reimu could not see the contents. So, she slowly moved closer to it, curious to see the interior. As she entered the doorway, the smoke dissipated.

The second room was densely filled with roses. At the center of the room, there was a small model of a house, with little toy animals scattered around. As Reimu approached the house, she felt herself shrink to its size, and began feeling the sensation of being pricked by the thorns of the roses.

She stood in front of the house, and looked back at the roses behind her. They now seemed to be looking at her. So too did the animals turn to face her. Wanting to escape their sight, Reimu entered the house.

The house was empty, save for a shadow of a person sitting on their knees in the middle. They appeared to be looking down at the ground. The figure stood up, and revealed its true form.

The girl who stood in front of Reimu had one arm. Where the other should have been, was nothing. On her head was a pair of small horns, like a demon. The girl and Reimu locked eyes for several minutes, before the girl finally spoke.

"Have you seen my arm?"

Reimu did not say anything. The girl looked intently at Reimu.

"Have you seen my arm?"

Reimu continued her silence. The girl now had a pained expression.

"Have you seen my arm?"

The girl had a crazed look on her face. She was desperate for a response.

"Have you seen my arm?"

Reimu's mouth did not open, and she did not make a sound.

"Have you seen my arm?"

Reimu tired of the girl. She turned around, and walked to the entrance to the house.

"Have you seen my arm?"

Reimu left the house and looked up.

Above her was the smiling face of Kasen Ibaraki.

"Aw, you're finally awake. I wonder what kind of dream you were having."


	4. Chapter 4: The Balance of Powers Shifts

It was quite early in the morning, certainly before Reimu would ever think about getting up normally. But last night's leads had her energetic and ready to go. She wasn't much of a morning person, so she stumbled around a bit, but her morning problems were nothing compared to Patchouli, who appeared so groggy after being woken up that one would think she'd been without sleep for a week. Kasen, on the other hand, seemed to be an early riser; she was the one who woke Reimu up in the first place, and seemed to be well-rested in spite of spending less time asleep than the other two.

Meanwhile, Eirin was finishing up several duties she tasked herself with for the morning of her departure. After informing the staff of the Eientei hospital of her impending absence and hastily reviewing procedures, Eirin joined the other three members of the incident-resolving party. The Lunarian doctor had already prepared a large array of medicines and drugs for the journey, safely contained in a satchel.

The foursome agreed that the best thing to do would be to simply look for any suspicious activities, objects, or people around Gensokyo, which Reimu proudly claimed as her signature approach to solving incidents.

"That's what I say! Beat some answers out of people who look like they want to fight. If they don't have answers, move to the next opponent and repeat," Reimu beamed.

Eirin smiled at the belligerence of the shrine maiden, not personally agreeing with that method of solving problems. However, it had worked many times before for her, so who was Eirin to argue?

And so, the four of them left Eientei ready to solve the still new incident.

* * *

"See? That wasn't so bad, Alice! Satori agreed to help faster than you can say 'Master Spark'!"

Alice shook her head, with Satori standing behind her. "I didn't have to say anything. She just read my mind to tell exactly what we wanted of her and that was that."

Satori reminded her of something else. "And, you did threaten violence."

Alice looked away. "I'm sorry about having said that… I got a little fired up about rolling out the plan. It was just a mistake I made in the moment." The dollmakers eyes moved to the satori. "I'm not normally so… forward. My apologies."

"Pffhahaha! Alice, you're such a worrywart. Don't worry about getting fired up, or whatever. It's nice to see you show some passion every once in awhile!" Marisa teased.

Alice did not find it very amusing at all. On the contrary, she hated being told to express herself more by Marisa. Silence was more her forte.

"Anyways, Marisa. Now that Satori is working with us, we must proceed. Let us speak with the inchling first."

"Don't have to ask me twice! Or rather, don't have to ask Satori twice." Marisa looked smugly at the mind reader. "Man, it feels good to relegate all the work to other people. I can't believe I hadn't tried to do something like this sooner!"

Satori closed her eyes. "You hadn't tried anything like this sooner because you were worried Alice wouldn't like you for it. But now that you know she'll help you-"

"Hush it!" Marisa was glaring daggers at Satori. "Don't mind read me, or it's back in the cage for you."

Alice smiled slightly, before gesturing Satori to another room.

"This room here contains the inchling of Shining Needle Castle, Satori. I will be asking her questions. I want you to-"

"I understand. Let's go ahead with it."

Alice was somewhat appreciative of not having to explain things to Satori in a long, drawn-out manner. The message was immediately understood, saving time for both sides of the conversation. It would be nice if Marisa understood things as well as Satori after multiple verbal explanations, Alice thought.

Satori seemed to be paying attention to what Alice was thinking despite Marisa's earlier warning. "That is a benefit to mind reading, yes. It's not all good though. It has made me hated by all others, save for my pets and sister… a life of isolation is not something many can handle. I can, though."

Alice blinked at Satori, before realizing she shouldn't be surprised that her Satori was privy to her mind.

"But I'm surprised you're working with Marisa. You keep thinking about how annoyed you are with her, or how you disagree with her."

Alice smiled, surprisingly; she didn't seem to be at all angry at Satori for looking at what she kept from Marisa. "Just because I disagree or get annoyed with her from time to time, doesn't mean I can't work with her. We've been friends for a long time, so I feel a need to help her with what she wants. Besides, it further propels my own research into autonomous dolls."

"So that's what you get out of helping Marisa. A way to make the autonomous dolls that you've wanted for so long."

"Well, that and the satisfaction of helping a friend."

Satori giggled. "That's one way of putting your relationship, based on what I'm seeing from you now, but I think there's a more accurate word than 'friend'..."

Alice's smile faded as she processed Satori's words and realized their implication, being replaced by a flustered blush. "Umm… please don't say things like that." Alice looked back at the table and was relieved to see Marisa hadn't noticed Satori's last comment. "If Marisa heard that, I would die of embarrassment…"

"Don't fret," Satori cryptically commented, "I don't think you have too much to worry about." She smirked as she said this. "Now, how about talking to the inchling?"

"Yes, let's do that." Alice regained her composure.

The pair entered the room for the smallest prisoner. Shinmyoumaru Sukuna, the inchling of the Shining Needle Castle, owner of the Miracle Mallet and a mastermind behind a past incident was its sole occupant. She was not really an inch tall - she used the powers of her Miracle Mallet to maintain a much more typical human stature, albeit still that of a small child. She was lying on the ground, still clutching her Mallet, a treasure of the inchling race, as she was unconscious. She also carried an oversized sewing needle, the Shining Needle Sword. It was essentially a normal sewing needle, but it grew in size with the inchling, and she imbued it with some of the Mallet's power. Beside her was a large bowl and a saucer lid, which she also grew for personal use as a vehicle.

Alice sat on her knees beside the unconscious inchling. She tried to gently shake her awake, but when that didn't work, she had one of her dolls fetch a potion from Eientei - one of the potions that was used to invigorate patients in comas. Propping the inchling's mouth open, Alice made the doll drop a small portion of the potion into her mouth.

Within moments, Shinmyoumaru opened her eyes, looking up at the doll above her. She sat up immediately, bumping her head into the doll and nearly sending it flying into Alice's face.

"Where the heck am I? And who are you?" Shinmyoumaru pointed at Alice, then Satori, then the doll, and back to Alice.

Alice explained dryly. "Right now, you're being held in a room by me. That's where you are. As for who I am, call me Alice. The other girl is Satori. And this? This is a doll."

"Being held by you? Am I your prisoner?"

Satori spoke from near the door. "You are. I, too, am 'being held' by Alice and Marisa."

"Huh? Marisa? Isn't she that magician friend of Reimu's? She tried to stop me during the revolution I caused…"

"The one and only!" Marisa suddenly poked her head in through the doorway. "I know you're a good girl, so I'm sorry I had to kidnap ya. Nothing personal, I swear! You're just helpful to my cause."

Shinmyoumaru was confused. "Cause? What do you need me for?"

Marisa winked and snapped her finger in the air besides her face. "I'm looking into creating a servant, or many servants. I could have 'em do stuff for me, run errands, get supplies, assist me borrowing things, the works. But most importantly, I'm gonna make some cool new Spell Card patterns with 'em! I've always been jealous of awesome slave-type attacks… like Alice's doll attacks, or Yukari's shikigami, or, let's see… oh yeah!" Looking at Satori now, Marisa made a big smile. "Like your cat's Cursed Sprite 'Zombie Fairy'! That one was pretty rough. But still cool, with all those fairies! I take notes on all the Spell Cards I see, because-"

Alice held up her hand to stop Marisa. "Marisa, you're rambling. I think Shinmyoumaru gets the point."

"...Oh. Well, if you wanna take a look at my notes, don't be afraid to ask!"

Alice commanded her dolls to shut the door, leaving just Alice, Satori, and Shinmyoumaru in the room.

"She gets very excited talking about Spell Cards. I'd say she lives only to fight… and steal." Alice sighed, standing up and walking back beside Satori. "Anyways, Marisa wants me to ask you some questions about your Miracle Mallet. As far as we're aware, it has the power to make tsukumogami, which Marisa is considering as a possibility for use as servants. Can you confirm this?"

Shinmyoumaru nodded. "Yeah, I guess it can, like back during my rebellion. But I didn't really intend for it to make tsukumogami when it did. It was more like, Seija convinced me to start a revolution by making the traditionally weak, such as inchlings and normal humans, strong, while making the traditionally strong, like vampires, oni, tengu, you know, the powerful youkai? Making them weak. See, she needed to convince me to help her because the Miracle Mallet can grant wishes, but only mine. However, such a large-scale wish as the one I made took some time to prepare, and caused immediate side effects. One of the side effects was making a bunch of tsukumogami. The other was to make normally peaceful youkai very aggressive. So while I could simply use it to grant a wish, like getting Marisa a servant, there would be drawbacks, and it would drain the Mallet's power, and I'd be tiny again, to top it all off. I don't want to be tiny, and since only inchlings can use its power, I would have to agree to ask Marisa's wish of the Mallet. And guess what? I don't agree. Because she kidnapped me."

Alice was surprised at the thoroughness of the inchling's answer. She seemed quite knowledgeable on the magic behind her Mallet, but also steadfast that she wouldn't use it. Alice looked over to Satori for confirmation that the inchling's words were in fact truth, and the satori nodded.

"Alright. That… answered a lot of my questions, actually. But I'm still curious about one thing, Shinmyoumaru."

"And what might that be?"

"Well, Marisa clearly is not going to let you go until she gets her servant. But… what if we let you, and everyone else here, free? All you'd have to do is ask a wish of the mallet. Think about it. Yes, you may become smaller afterwards, but that wasn't a problem for you before, was it?"

The inchling's thoughts turned to the events after her rebellion, which Satori instantly read. "You were kept in a small cage at the Hakurei Shrine, so that nothing could threaten you in your normal, extremely small state. Once your Mallet recharged its power and you could draw on it to keep yourself at a more normal height, you left the cage and returned to your castle."

Alice's gaze shifted from Satori back to Shinmyoumaru. "I'm sure Reimu would be willing to protect you again. Just ask a wish of the Mallet now. Wish for a servant for Marisa, or the ability for her to make one, and we'll happily let you go. We'll let everyone else we're holding go, too. Shrinking for a little while? You've done that before, and didn't let it get to you. Not so much of a price to pay for bringing this kidnapping incident to an end, hmm?"

"I…" Shinmyoumaru's voice wavered. "You know what? Fine. I'll play along. Bring Marisa in, so I know exactly what she wants."

"Wonderful. I'll inform her immediately." Alice smiled pleasantly.

So, Alice had a doll tap Marisa on the shoulder, to let her know she was needed.

Marisa opened the door and walked into the inchling's room. "What did you need me for, Alice?"

"Shinmyoumaru would like to cooperate. She will use the power of her Mallet to grant your wish. She asks that you tell her exactly what you want. If there's any specifications about your servant, or anything like that, tell her."

"She'll help us? Sweet!" Marisa beamed. "Let's see… I want…"

Marisa thought about what she wanted.

"Uhh…" Marisa laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head. "Thing is, I wasn't exactly expecting any of 'em to work with us so easily, so I figured I'd just settle for anything they'd be willing to give me. Guess that means I don't actually know exactly what I want… heheh…"

Alice looked very annoyed. "We're about to solve your little problem and end the incident you've caused and you don't know what you want? Come on, Marisa!"

"Don't force it, Alice, I'm still thinking. It needs to be perfect. It can't just be cool and unique. It's gotta have a good personality, someone I'd like to have as a friend, not just boss around as a slave. And they've gotta be willing to help me for a mighty slave-type spell card!"

Shinmyoumaru interrupted her. "That's enough detail for the Mallet. How many?"

"Um… let's go with… actually, just one, I guess. As long as it's as strong as I am. Too many would just be a hassle, now that I think about it."

"Alright. Creating life with precise qualities for an influential Gensokyan could have a considerable effect on Gensokyo, or little at all. If the former is true, this will be quite a wish to ask of the Mallet, so there'll be some immediate repercussions… side effects, felt across Gensokyo, just like there were before. And, it might take a little while for the servant to be formulated and created. That's just if your wish will actually have a large effect on the balance of Gensokyo. If not, then there won't be many problems. Also, please keep up your side of the bargain! I'm trusting you here. Make sure everyone gets released, even if I don't really know who they are. And protect me when I shrink! It won't be immediate, just when the wish is fully realized or when the wish is broken. Okay?"

"I promise!" Marisa said gleefully.

Shinmyoumaru took a deep breath in. "Alright. Here goes."

The inchling whispered something under her breath, raised the Mallet over her head, and brought it down in front of her. It sparkled the whole way through, and released a tangible shockwave as it came to rest, held out in front of Shinmyoumaru. The shockwave pushed straight through everyone in the room, and then through the walls, and kept going beyond that.

Marisa was giddy with excitement. "Yes! It's gonna work, it's gonna work!"

Alice was less enthused. "You still owe me my part of the bargain, Marisa. And, I'm worried about what the consequences of your wish will be…"

* * *

The shockwave from the release of the Miracle Mallet's power spread throughout Gensokyo.

Four girls were flying through the air near the Human Village, looking for clues to solve an incident about kidnappings and thefts. They felt the shockwave hit them, and they stopped advancing, wondering what it was that they felt.

"Did you feel that?" Patchouli asked the group.

"What was that? It was like a sudden strong gust of wind, but… I feel different, somehow." Reimu had a worried expression on her face.

The four of them landed in a field north of the Human Village.

"No doubt about it. That had to do with the incident somehow," Reimu concluded. "But, like I said, I feel different."

Patchouli gasped. "My magic-!"

The other three looked at Patchouli with surprise.

"I can feel it. It feels… stronger, somehow."

"Hold on." Eirin was puzzled. "I feel like… singing?"

Reimu was equally confused. "What the? Kasen, your eyes have turned red…? And you've got rabbit ears behind those buns of yours!"

"Well, don't look now, Reimu. But you've got some pretty… interesting wings."

Reimu looked at the newly sprouted wings on her back.

"Aah! What in the…"

Protruding from Reimu's back were a pair of incredibly odd wings. The ones on her right side were a crimson red and looked almost metallic. They bore an uncanny resemblance to scythes. The ones on her left were blue and shaped like arrows.

"No way… These are Nue's wings…" Reimu's jaw dropped.

Patchouli found herself suddenly holding an elegant parasol, and her nightgown was adorned with various flowers.

"What? Is that Yuuka's parasol? What's going on here?" Reimu's mouth was still wide open from surprise.

The librarian looked at Eirin. "Yuuka…? So…"

"What is it?" Eirin found that Patchouli was giving her an intense stare. Looking at herself, she noticed that she had sprouted a pair of wings just as Reimu had, except hers were purple and white. They resembled a bat's wings, except with feathers. "When did I get these?"

Reimu recalled who those wings came from. "You look a bit like Mystia Lorelei now, Eirin."

Kasen was deep in thought. "So everyone has gained attributes of others in Gensokyo… I don't know how, but this has something to do with the theft incident."

Reimu had an idea. "I'd bet we got more than some of their features… let me try something out." Reimu looked like she was concentrating on something, when she suddenly changed form, into a glowing ball of light. "Woah! I've got Nue's powers! But I can feel my divine energy being weaker than normal, so I think I'm retaining my own abilities, just diminished..."

Kasen thought about the attributes she gained. "I got rabbit ears, and red eyes. I must have gotten Reisen, and I probably inherited her ability to inflict insanity as well." She grinned momentarily. "I won't try it out on any of you, though."

Patchouli smiled. "I've read about the Flower Master of Four Seasons, Yuuka Kazami… It's said she wields incredible magic powers, as well as manipulation of flowers. That explains the sudden surge of magic I felt."

Eirin sighed. "Then what am I stuck with? I don't really know what I've gotten out of this… event."

Reimu laughed. "You said you felt like singing, right? That's because Mystia can sing special songs that inflict blindness on those who hear it."

Kasen spoke again. "Well, I hate to interrupt this discovery, but I think we need to return to the incident at hand. If we suddenly got powers from other people, it's likely that everyone in Gensokyo has assumed some sort of power from someone else. For instance, someone may be walking around with your purification rod and the ability to float away from reality, Reimu."

"Oh… that's not good." Reimu's smile waned.

"If powerful abilities were shifted to the wrong people, who knows what could happen? Imagine someone with the cunning and reason to do terrible deeds being given an ability that makes them hard to control? Like Seiga Kaku suddenly gaining time manipulation from your maid, Patchouli. Or some idiot like Cirno getting Utsuho Reiuji's powers and not knowing how to control it. The results would be catastrophic…" Kasen's voice wavered as her mind swarmed with possible disaster scenarios.

Patchouli broke the tension with a more positive comment. "Well, based on the direction the wave was moving when it hit us, the source is likely from somewhere in or near the Forest of Magic. I'd wager my library that the effect originated from the current location of the incident's mastermind, if I were one to bet."

"Then that's where we'll go." Eirin nodded. "My, solving these incidents seems like a fun endeavor, with the thrill of discovery and piecing together the puzzle~"

Reimu snorted. "Leave it to the professional, Eirin. This is your first time on the resolution side of an incident, isn't it? And you're still inexperienced compared to me, Patchouli and Kasen."

Shrugging, the other three followed Reimu as the party made their way towards the Forest of Magic.

* * *

"AAAAAHHH!" Alice screamed at the top of her lungs from within the small hut serving as headquarters for those behind the incident.

Marisa, who was not far from the hut gathering mushrooms, heard Alice's scream. "What in the world?"

Marisa ran into the house, to be greeted by the one of the strangest things she'd ever seen.

"Woah…" was all the witch could muster.

"My legs, Marisa! They're gone! What happened to my legs?!" Alice was staring fixedly down at where her legs used to be.

It was true - Alice had no legs anymore. Peeking out from the bottom of her dress was a ghostly tendril-like thing. Marisa thought she remembered someone with features like that.

"Umm… I've seen that before… oh yeah! What was her name… Soga no… Tojiko? She was a vengeful spirit, and she didn't have legs either. And even Mima didn't have legs, now that I think about it. So, did you, uhh... become a ghost, Alice…?"

Alice looked up from her new ghostly appendages and shrieked again. "M-Marisa! You have…"

Marisa looked at herself. She didn't notice anything out of the ordinary immediately. Then something caught her eye. "Huh… I've got a big ol' shimenawa floating behind me… just like Kanako! I wonder if I can do godly stuff now!" Marisa said this jokingly, making erratic motions that were probably supposed to represent divine powers.

To the witch's great surprise, it started raining in the hut as she pranced around. "Wuh? I really do have Kanako's powers now!"

Alice, now legless and wet, floated over to Marisa, seething with anger. "This is the result of making a wish with the Miracle Mallet! This is YOUR fault, Marisa!"

"Why the long face, Alice? You've probably got some cool new powers, too! I dunno how I activated mine, I just sorta swung my arms around, and it started raining. Maybe you should try it, too! And besides, even if your clothes are wet, I can just use Kanako's power again, and dry 'em off with wind."

"No powers! Do you realize what you've done, Marisa?! Look at the consequences of your wish! You have a god's powers, I've become partially ghost! Who's to say it's just us experiencing this. I bet people's abilities are getting swapped around all over Gensokyo. You took the relatively minor incident you started and blew it way out of proportion. Now you've gone and made everyone get crazy new powers, and Reimu is gonna make sure you pay for this! And I'm associated with you, so I'm going to be punished too!"

"Sorry to interrupt you two, but I need to say something…" Shinmyoumaru floated in between Alice and Marisa. "Guys, your wish must have asked more of the Mallet than I thought, so the result of the wish being granted must have a large impact on Gensokyo as a whole… this is a pretty big side effect, and I can feel that your wish drained a lot of power from it. And look at me! I've got these weird earmuff things now, and this little stick thing. I tried taking these off, and my hearing started getting super sensitive, and for some reason I can see what you all desire?"

"Haha! So you got Toyosatomimi no Miko's Powers? Maybe you should be working with your ghost ally over here, Ali- I mean, Tojiko!" Marisa was very amused with the power switching that she caused.

Alice turned around, facing the series of rooms with kidnapped victims within them. "Wait… we still have many people in here that we're waiting to release. Umm… with new powers, they could probably just break out much more easily."

As if on cue, they heard a yelp from one of the rooms. "That's the second furthest one… you said yesterday that was Reisen, right Alice?" Marisa remembered.

Alice, Marisa, and Shinmyoumaru hurried over to the room. Reisen Udongein Inaba, the moon rabbit and subordinate to Eirin Yagokoro and Princess Kaguya Houraisan, had apparently just woken up from her unconscious state and saw an odd new feature on her. Or rather, next to her.

"What is this eagle doing?! Ahh!"

She was right. Alice, Marisa, and Shinmyoumaru were flabbergasted to see a giant bald eagle sitting on the ground next to Reisen, who now had a bandage over her right arm and a broken shackle on her left.

Marisa overcame her surprise and giggled. "I love this! Every person we come across has a funny power combination."

Reisen's eyes shifted from the bird on her left to the captors before her. She narrowed her eyes when she saw Marisa. "You… fiend!"

Marisa looked at the ceiling. "I didn't want to fight you, and capture you, or whatever. You just had to come out of Eientei when I was heading in for a little borrowing, and I didn't want any witnesses this time around."

"I ought to fight you again right now, for dragging me to Chang'e knows where!"

Alice glared at Reisen. "You think you're at all fit to fight right now? Besides, we'd much rather talk with you… specifically about the new things you've got now, and what that means."

"...umm…"

Alice took Reisen's pause as a chance to explain what was happening. "I won't go in too much detail, but Marisa here wants some servants, so she went around stealing a bunch of stuff-"

"Borrowing! Just borrowing."

"Er, yes, just borrowing. Anyways, she wanted to keep her actions concealed, so she fought anyone who witnessed her, and kidnapped them. She also took a few people who could be beneficial to her plan with or without taking their things as well. Shinmyoumaru here was one of those people," Alice motioned to the inchling behind her, "and agreed to help Marisa, if it meant everyone else got to be set free. Basically, Marisa got Shinmyoumaru to ask a wish of her Mallet, but it must have been taxing on the Mallet, because now there's a side effect where people are getting features and abilities of others. As you can see, I've got these phantom appendages now…"

"And I am now the goddess Kanako!" Marisa cried, thumping her chest. "Bow down to me and pray for fair weather! If not, I will smite you with storms!"

"She's taking this better than I am, needless to say."

Reisen took this in for a moment. "Than who am I like? What's with the giant bird?"

Marisa laughed. "You're the mountain hermit, Kasen Ibaraki. That means you should be able to speak with animals, and basically have a bit of control over them. I guess the bird is your pet now. Oh! I should have taken her as well as her medicine box thing…"

All of them heard commotion coming from the other rooms as well, interrupting their conversation.

"Woah… why do I have these three spheres chained to this odd necklace? What is the meaning of this? Sakuya! Please come assist your mistress!" came the muffled voice of someone from the next room, apparently Remilia.

"I'm not Sakuya! It should be pretty obvious, unless you're blind. I am the finest reporter in Gensokyo, Aya Shameimaru! And… what's with the little circles you've got there, Remilia?"

"I could say the same about that little doll floating next to you. And singe when do you wear a ribbon, tengu?"

"Oh, I know what this is - this appears to be from Medicine Melancholy. Now what am I doing with it?"

"Would you two quiet down!" Marisa yelled. "I'm trying to hold a conversation here. Remilia, your maid is probably asleep or something. Keep yelling and I'll make it rain on you!"

"Marisa?! Wait, no! I hate the rain! Sakuya, help me!"

"I'm coming, mistress!" The voice of Sakuya Izayoi came from a room on the other side of Remilia and Aya's. "Right as soon as I figure out how to walk with this big stone shoe, and move this thing on my arm."

"Big stone shoe, huh?" Marisa was thinking. "Oh, no…"

Alice remembered the the same person as Marisa. "Utsuho Reiuji. Sakuya has her nuclear fusion powers…"

"I'm toast when she finds out I did that to her…" Marisa whimpered.

Reisen cleared her throat loudly, stood up, and crossed her arms. "And what am I supposed to do with a big bird? Do you have anything to say for yourself, Marisa?"

"Umm… gotta go?" Marisa quickly left the room. She wasn't even paying attention to where she was going as she left, and bumped into the maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

Sakuya kept her composure, narrowing her eyes. "What's with the shimenawa?"

Marisa looked down at Sakuya's new control rod arm cannon. "And you've got a big orange cylinder on your arm, as well as a, uhh, rock on your leg. And that creepy eye on your chest, too. Sorry about that…"

It didn't seem like Sakuya's eyes could be further narrowed in annoyance, but they did nevertheless. "'Sorry about that'...? You did this, Marisa?"

Marisa backed up. "Now, I didn't mean to…"

Sakuya suddenly drew a knife and rushed toward Marisa, pointing it at her. "Explain yourself. Quickly."

Marisa was visibly sweating now. "Uhh… I may have accidentally given everyone powers from other people… and changed their appearances accordingly…" she smiled weakly as the knife still lingered near her.

"Sounds like an incident, Marisa. I happen to take great pride in solving them. And wouldn't you know it, the one behind this incident just happens to be right in front of me!"


	5. Chapter 5: Factions Across Gensokyo

The ripples were felt across Gensokyo.

The wish-granting power of the Miracle Mallet caused an unexpected side effect - across Gensokyo, people's powers were being shifted around.

Within the Netherworld was a traditional manor - Hakugyokurou. There were two notable people within, Yuyuko Saigyouji, ghost princess of the Netherworld, and her servant, gardener, and dear friend, Youmu Konpaku, half-ghost and half-human.

"What do you make of this, Lady Yuyuko?" Youmu said. "I don't understand where this came from… this torch, and this odd hat."

"Heehee, it looks good on you, Youmu~" The ghost princess giggled with her mouth behind her fan.

"And you have a scythe and pigtails now, too. What's going on?"

Yuyuko put her fan away and picked up her new scythe. "I believe I have seen this scythe before. If I remember correctly, it belongs to the shinigami Komachi Onozuka. Maybe we could have a sparring match, Youmu?"

"I don't believe this is the time for play, Lady Yuyuko. This could be a major incident. So, I desire to go out and solve it."

"You may be right, Youmu. But, I would like to run a little test. If my intuition is right, then this change in appearance is not the only part of this. I seem to recall Komachi having abilities relating to making things closer or farther. Maybe I could make you get closer to me…?"

Youmu knew her mistress was only teasing, so she didn't bat an eye at the suggestion. "Or, you could use it to move me to the edge of the Netherworld, so I could go solve the incident."

Yuyuko had an elegant smile. "That's too bad. At least we will see if my theory is correct." She raised her arms, scythe in hand, and made a pushing motion. To Youmu's surprise, she was actually moved farther away from Yuyuko, although not to the end of the Netherworld.

Yuyuko had to call out to her gardener for her to be heard. "I couldn't let you leave without saying goodbye, Youmu. Good luck on solving this incident~"

Youmu waved back at Yuyuko, before making her way out of Hakugyokurou and then the Netherworld itself.

"Wow, who are you?" a childish voice called out to Youmu, as she exited the Netherworld and entered the main part of Gensokyo.

"Who's there?" Youmu asked, suddenly vigilant.

"It's me! Behind you!"

Youmu turned around and drew her blade Roukanken in a flash, ready for a fight.

"Hey, I don't want to fight you! Even though I'd win, heehee." The voice giggled. "I'm Koishi Komeiji! Nice to meet you!"

"I haven't even said my name yet…" Youmu was already confused with this person's behavior. "But I'm Youmu Konpaku. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an incident I'm trying to solve, so I'd like to get going."

"Ooh, sounds like fun! Take me with you!"

"No." Youmu preferred to work alone or with Yuyuko when solving incidents.

"Aww… but I really want to!"

"The answer is still no."

"Then I'll just follow you anyways."

Youmu saw that reasoning with this Koishi was not working as well as she'd hoped. So, she decided it would just be best to humor this odd girl. "Alright, alright. You can help me out…"

* * *

At the Hakurei shrine was a collection of fairies, and one other who stood out from the rest.

"Sunny, when did you get that weird hat? It almost looks like a little house or something." one of the fairies asked another.

The fairy named Sunny Milk had a confused expression on her face. "What do you mean? You've got a funny hat on too, Star!"

Star showed off her new hat. "It's a cool straw hat with frills! I wonder where it came from… I don't think I can use this to play any fun pranks, though."

A third fairy joined in. "You two may have new hats, but I have a pair of ears and these two metal things."

Sunny laughed. "Luna, you look like a mouse! Hahaha!"

A fourth fairy, dressed in stars and stripes, was standing beside the other non-fairy person, watching the other three talk amongst themselves.

This other person was rather tall, dressed in a black t-shirt that left both of her shoulders exposed and a multicolored skirt, similar to a fashion trend from the outside world. She radiated power, but the fairy seemed at ease beside her.

"It seems you've made some friends since I left you in Gensokyo, Clownpiece. That's good to see. And what's with the swords, and the phantom?"

The fairy looked up at the woman beside her. "I don't know. I felt some sort of wind, and these appeared. It happened earlier today."

"Interesting. I felt it as well. So you live at this shrine now?"

"Yeah, because Reimu lives here. She's one of the only people I knew."

"Where is she now? I'm surprised she's not at her home."

"She left sometime yesterday. I heard her say something about an incident, I think…"

"Haha! Who would imagine? I come up to visit you for the first time since I left you here, and there's an incident? What are the chances?"

"Wait… you said you felt the wind too, Hecatia!" Clownpiece was realizing something. "So what-"

"What happened to me? You didn't notice them?" Hecatia turned around for Clownpiece to see.

"Wings? Woah…"

Hecatia smiled. "Well, it seems I got involved in another incident in Gensokyo… but, I don't know what's happening this time. Maybe I should go and figure it out…?"

"Wait, weren't you gonna spend more time with me? That's what you came up for, right?"

"Who said I wouldn't bring you along, Clownpiece? I have a lot I want to talk with you about, so I want you to come with me."

"Yay!"

* * *

"This broom, and witches hat… Marisa Kirisame. Why do I have these things?"

"I don't know, Kanako. I'm just as confused. All of a sudden, all of us have odd new abilities and items. I don't know what these masks swirling around me mean, but I got them. They have a strong aura around them, and seem to affect emotions, from what I can tell."

"I'll see if Sanae knows anything about this. If this truly is an incident, then I'm sure she's ready to go solve it."

"You called?" Sanae Kochiya, shrine maiden of the Moriya Shrine on Youkai Mountain, entered the room. "Ah, so you both got these things too. I'm honestly not quite sure what this means… I seem to have been granted this odd white hat, and a golden lapel. Now, I always feel cold…"

"You're right. Your very presence is making it chilly in here, Sanae." Kanako seemed bothered. "Mmm. I really don't like this cold, it's making me uncomfortable. This is probably an incident, so you should go solve it."

"Umm… alright? I'm heading out, then…" Sanae left.

"Was that really necessary? You were acting pretty cold to her."

"Suwako, the only reason for that is that she was making it cold."

"Yikes, you're irritable today. Are we low on faith or something? Or maybe it is these emotionally charged masks… they give off a creepy vibe, I don't like them one bit. So, how do you feel about your new hat and broom? Maybe you could help Sanae sweep the shrine with it, hehe…"

Kanako waved her hand dismissively to Suwako's comment. "I don't really know what these mean, but I'm not really concerned. It doesn't seem to be harming anything, nor does it seem like any help. So, I'll let Sanae get to the bottom of it."

"Tough crowd." Suwako sighed and started fiddling with her 65 new masks.

* * *

"Wow! I can go through walls with this. Wheeeee!"

"Lady Flandre, get back here!" yelled Meiling, taking the normal route out of the library to follow the little vampire.

"Now I can go anywhere in the Mansion!"

Flandre was cheerily skipping through the Mansion at an easygoing pace, not hesitating when faced with any walls. Meiling was running through the halls at top speed, and she was still having trouble catching Flandre.

"Lady Flandre, you're going to end up going through a wall, straight outside into the harmful sun!"

"That's a good idea! You got a weird new umbrella, so you could hold it over me like Sakuya holds Remi's!"

Meiling silently cursed herself for mentioning the outside and the odd umbrella she now held. It was violet with a sinister eye and mouth design on it, but the strangest feature of it was a gigantic lifelike tongue sticking out of the umbrella's "mouth". Meiling wasn't certain what the purpose of the tongue was, and she felt like she didn't really want to know.

Flandre had turned around and began looking for Meiling, and the two bumped into each other in the main foyer of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

"Please please please! I wanna go outside so bad! If you don't want to hold the umbrella over me, I'll just go out through a wall myself!" Flandre's signature side ponytail now had a hair stick in it, which she was using to cut holes in any walls she ran into. She also now held a translucent cloth, although this seemed to have no abilities of its own.

Meiling wasn't sure what to do. What she did know is that she would likely be fired or worse if she let Flandre outside of the Mansion. But what would Flandre do to her right now if she didn't get her way? What if Flandre escaped and started causing mayhem with nobody there to control her?

"...Alright. But you have to stay right next to me, under the umbrella! If you don't, it's right back here for both of us!"

"Yay! Let's go, Meiling, let's go!"

Meiling begrudgingly held up her new tongue umbrella, unsure of what it really did, and walked out the front door of the Scarlet Devil Mansion with its younger noble occupant beneath.

* * *

Mayohiga. A town devoid of human life. Normally overrun by a colony of cats, the streets were strangely quiet today. Walking through them instead were three girls.

"This is quite intriguing. An odd turn of events. But I think I look good with horns, wouldn't you say, Ran? How about you, Chen?"

The shikigami with golden tails, Ran, nodded. "Of course, Yukari."

"It makes it hard to wear my cap, though. That is truly a shame."

Chen spoke up. "Hey, what about my horn? I don't like the new ears, though…"

Yukari giggled. "How many ears do you have now, Chen?"

Chen pouted. "Four. My cat ears, and then these new ones on the side of my head."

"I don't have horns like you two, just this spear and pagoda. I wonder where they came from?"

Yukari waved her hand, and her expression became much more serious. "This is clearly the beginning of an incident. We've all gained the looks and abilities of others in Gensokyo, and from what I've gathered, whoever's abilities each of us gained, they got ours in turn. It seems that each side's original abilities are weakened, but the ability they gained is at full strength. I think this incident in particular may be dangerous, if powers are given to the wrong people. Thankfully, I can trust Suika with my own, but as for other people, I can't be quite sure. However, I do intend on going to meet someone I haven't seen in a little while, who may be able to help me out with this…"

Ran and Chen looked quizzically at their master, Yukari. "Where might that be? And who?" Ran asked the gap youkai.

"You'll see. Follow me through this gap…" Yukari opened up a gap portal and beckoned for her shikigami to follow her through with a smile on her face again.

The three of them went through the portal and entered a strange world of doors.

"Yukari, where are we?" Chen asked the leader of the trio.

"We'll answer that for you!" A girl dressed in dark green with olive hair shouted, floating down toward the trio. Beside her was a similar-looking girl in pink with brown hair.

"I'm Satono Nishida."

"I'm Mai Teireida."

"You are now in the Land of the Rear Door!" Satono, the one in pink, announced.

"But who are you three? What are you doing here?" Mai asked Yukari and company.

"I'm Yukari Yakumo. I believe you may have heard your master mention my name before. I'm an old friend of hers, a Sage of Gensokyo."

"Yukari… sounds familiar…" Mai turned to Satono. "Should we really bring her to the master?"

"Hmm… I don't know. I would say that we should test them before we allow them to go, but we're outnumbered."

Yukari cleared her throat and smirked. "Then fight me, two on one, and see who you are dealing with. I'm sure you'll let me see her afterwards."

Satono and Mai looked at each other and smiled back at Yukari. "You have a deal, 'Yukari'. Let's make this quick!" Mai challenged.

Ran and Chen understood what was happening and pulled back from Yukari. The gap youkai didn't normally like to fight through things, Ran thought, so this must be some sort of special case. Alternatively, she was just bored.

Yukari didn't hesitate for a moment. She slowly drew a spell card and read out its name. "Boundary Sign 'Boundary between Wave and Particle'!"

Ran and Chen were just as surprised as Satono and Mai. "A spell card already? What's Yukari thinking?" asked Chen.

Yukari released a stream of bullets in all directions, before spinning the streams around her, creating a dense spiral like pattern of projectiles that flew very quickly at her targets, Satono and Mai. The two had much difficulty dodging the dense stream of bullets, and got hit several times.

Both of them looked in pain by the time Yukari's Spell Card ended, but they had enough energy to call out one of their own in unison. "Mad Dance 'Crazy Back Dance'!"

However, they were interrupted before they could begin their counterattack.

"What's the commotion here? What's going on?"

A new figure arrived from behind the dancers, with blonde hair and orange and green clothes. She gracefully floated down alongside Satono and Mai and looked at them inquisitively. They both simply pointed at Yukari, who was twirling her parasol and cooling herself off with a fan.

"What?! Yukari? It's been a long time!"

Yukari put her fan away and slowly moved towards the other three. Ran and Chen decided it would be wise to stay put and simply watch their master.

"It has, Okina. But I'm afraid I don't have time for idle chitchat. There's an incident I'd like to ask you about."

"Well, that's no way to talk to a good friend, Yukari. I remember the good old days - before Gensokyo, I mean. But those are past, huh? Not that the current state of affairs is bad, either… though you mentioned an incident? I haven't noticed anything major enough for you to need to come to me for help. Unless you're referring to those horns you've got on your head?"

"That's exactly it. I'm sure I've told you about Suika Ibuki before, she's an oni friend of mine. Well, these are her horns. I have also acquired her manipulation of density, but for what reason, I do not know. I was curious if you gained any traits like I have, or if you had any knowledge of who might be behind this incident. All across Gensokyo, powers are being swapped around, and I believe it's a matter of time before someone abuses a new power and the situation gets out of hand."

Okina was stroking her chin. "I can't say I have. When did this happen?"

"There was a shockwave that was moving through Gensokyo. It eventually reached my home, and I was given the powers of Suika when it hit me."

"I certainly haven't seen or felt any shockwave. Perhaps it's because I've been hidden in here, a dimension outside of the sphere of Gensokyo, so it did not affect me. Nor did it affect my servants here, for that matter."

"Could you perhaps see where the source of this power is with your doors?"

Okina thought for a moment. "It's possible, but it would likely be no more effective than you using your own gaps to find out as well. As far as I'm concerned, this incident of power switching pales in comparison to my own, last year. So while I'm not sure what you see as a threat this time, Yukari, that would drive you to come to me, I am certain that you are wise enough to solve it on your own. I have other matters I'd like to address, regarding certain rivals that have been hiding under my nose in Gensokyo…"

"Okina Matara. Would you say that you are on my side?"

Okina, who had turned away from Yukari and was preparing to leave, faced the youkai of boundaries again. "Your side? That's an interesting thing to say. I count you among my allies in Gensokyo, if that's what you mean."

"Not quite."

"In that case, I can't say I'm on your side or not. I think I get what you're speaking of now. And in regards to that, perhaps. But you already have many people on your side as it stands, don't you?"

"Less than I thought, unfortunately."

Okina smirked. "That's a problem, isn't it? I'll leave you to solve it… and this 'incident'. Good luck."

With that, Okina left the area with her servants, Satono and Mai, trailing her. Yukari also flew over to her own servants, Ran and Chen.

"That was quite productive. I do believe I'll go and figure out who is behind this, then."

Ran and Chen were not able to follow the conversation well, but from what they gathered, Okina Matara was not very helpful to Yukari. So, they were very confused as to how Yukari felt good about her talk with the secret god.

"Maybe I've inherited Suika's alcohol tolerance now~ I'd try it out, if I had nothing to do."

Yukari opened a gap and flew through it without any form of communication with her shikigami. They shrugged and followed their master, curious of her intentions.

* * *

The Human Village was largely unaffected by the incident, as most of its residents lived without powers in the first place, so the Mallet evidently did not transfer abilities to those who had nothing to offer themselves. However, there were still those in the village who were influenced.

One of these people was the highly regarded Buddhist monk, Byakuren Hijiri. Renowned as a savior to youkai and one who treats all with dignity and respect, Byakuren was held as a religious leader in Gensokyo. Her Myouren Temple was a popular place of worship among the citizens of the Human Village, despite the equally large presence of even traditionally feared youkai that also gathered there.

Today was not a typical day for Byakuren. When many of her loyal youkai followers began exhibiting traits of others in Gensokyo, Byakuren took it upon herself to identify the cause and resolve the situation.

Shou, perhaps the most staunch of her supporters, the avatar of Bishamonten, sprouted nine golden tails and an odd split cap. Shou's servant, Nazrin, gained a white cap and crescent-moon shaped wings, like those of a fairy. Murasa, another loyal follower and a formerly wrathful spirit of one who died at sea, grew antennae and now wore a cape along with her sailor's uniform. The user of nyuudou, Ichirin Kumoi, gained ice shard like wings. The guest resident, Mamizou Futatsuiwa, now had a crimson and black bow in her hair and reported an ability to spit string, like a spider. And finally, Nue Houjuu, sharing a name with her species, donned pieces of the most iconic outfit in all of Gensokyo - the ribbon and gohei, or purification rod, of the Hakurei shrine maiden, Reimu.

As for Byakuren herself, she inherited something she knew well - the closed third eye of Koishi Komeiji, the wandering satori who manipulated the subconscious. Byakuren herself had instated Koishi as an honorary member of the Myouren temple, when she figured that Koishi's lack of a thought process also meant a lack of worldly desires, and decided that Koishi was actually approaching enlightenment. However, Byakuren discovered that she had gained Koishi's control of the subconscious, and was terrified of it. The ability to so greatly influence the minds of those around her was not something Byakuren wanted or liked. She told nobody about this, but her primary reason for going out to solve the incident was fear of her new power and what could be done with it.

Byakuren was strolling through the Human Village, to seek out a certain youkai who was often in the area - the menreiki, Hata no Kokoro. The monk had encountered this youkai multiple times, and figured she would have some powers shifted to her. Kokoro's proximity to the Myouren Temple and her tendency to roam somewhat made her an ideal beginning for Byakuren's investigation.

While most people in the village loved Byakuren, she received many looks of disgust when the villagers saw her new third eye. This hate is exactly what she fought against, and it saddened her. It also made her appreciate the vitriol certain species of youkai faced, and she swore to herself to mitigate it.

To her own surprise, it did not take Byakuren long to find Kokoro, who was standing on the outskirts of the Human Village, talking to someone Byakuren could not see. Kokoro was wearing a tan hat with googly eyes on top. Byakuren identified this as the hat of Suwako Moriya, one of the other religious figures in Gensokyo as one of the two goddesses of the Moriya Shrine.

Byakuren approached Kokoro, and was not even a few arm's lengths away when she finally saw Kokoro's conversation partner.

Speaking with the menreiki was none other than Toyosatomimi no Miko, the head Taoist in Gensokyo and Byakuren's nemesis in previous religious wars. While Byakuren swore to herself to treat all equally, that did not mean she did not harbor a disdain for Miko - a disdain Byakuren herself knew was not adherent to her religion, but one she had all the same.

Miko also saw Byakuren in the same moment. While she was having a rather pleasant conversation with Kokoro, she started frowning as soon as the monk appeared in her field of vision.

"Sorry, hold on, Kokoro. There's a new player here."

Byakuren tried to be pleasant with her rival. "Greetings, Toyosatomimi no Miko. I wasn't aware you were speaking with Hata no Kokoro here. It was rude of me to interrupt."

Miko laughed. "You can drop the act, Byakuren. I know how you despise me! You even put your temple right where I was sealed, so I could never escape. It's too bad that backfired for you. But I'm afraid that I am speaking with Kokoro about a serious incident."

"That's interesting. I happen to also want to speak with Kokoro about the incident at hand."

"I can listen to and understand ten conversations at once, Byakuren. But, I'd rather none of them involve you when I'm focused on this task."

Byakuren ignored this. "I love the new hat, Miko! So strange and wacky, and yet it suits you! It looks like it's even versatile enough to function as a bowl at mealtime. Impressive!"

Kokoro could tell things were getting intense. "Umm…"

Miko glared at Byakuren. "Woah, insulting me? You stray further from your religion, Byakuren. How can you set an example when this is what you do? While you ponder that, try not to trip over that purple rope around you… or worse."

"Miko, I don't mean to offend," Byakuren said, trying to suppress her sinful anger, "but you aren't exactly a shining beacon of morals. I would recommend you learn something of respect for others and then return to me at the Temple and show me how you've grown as a person."

"Can you two stop?" Kokoro was growing frustrated with the other two's little religious feud.

"I bet you'd like me to come over and 'show you how I've grown', Byakuren. Mhm."

"STOP!" Kokoro, despite being unable to show emotions herself, now bore a mask resembling an angry demon, so it was clear what she felt. So intense was her plea that both Miko and Byakuren instantly stopped and stared at her surprised, and a few passerby froze in place, trying to see what the commotion was.

"There's an incident going on that you both seem like you want to solve, and you're bickering over a grudge. You're losing sight of your tasks. Why don't we hold a normal conversation, like normal people, without screaming fits and insults?"

There was a brief silence as both Byakuren and Miko were shocked at the normally quiet Kokoro's outburst.

"I… apologize," Byakuren looked at her feet and fiddled with the cord of her third eye, "I have spoken sinfully."

Miko snorted. "I guess we can get back to our conversation, Kokoro."

Kokoro cleared her throat and removed the angry mask. "Based on where the shockwave was moving, the source of it was probably within the Forest of Magic…"

Byakuren nodded. "It flips around abilities, it seems. It's not something I'd like to leave unchecked for long; someone could do terrible things with their new powers."

"I actually agree with the monk for once. It's a threat to the order of Gensokyo."

Kokoro hummed thoughtfully. "Wonderful. So you two wouldn't mind investigating it with me, then?"

"With her?!" both Byakuren and Miko asked at the same time.

"Not happening." Miko crossed her arms.

Byakuren handled it more delicately. "I don't know if that's necessary."

"If we work together, we may be able to share knowledge, or defeat someone with a strong power combination that we wouldn't individually."

Miko and Byakuren couldn't help but agree with Kokoro; her point was hard to argue against.

"...You're right." Miko muttered.

"I have to agree with you there, Kokoro."

Kokoro donned a happy mask. "Let's go! We have no time to waste."

* * *

All across Gensokyo, many different parties were out and about as a result of the swapping of abilities. Some of them were people who were well known to each other, while some were unlikely pairings brought together by circumstance. All of the groups shared a common goal: solve the incident, and restore things to their original state.

How they'd go about this goal, and their paths to try and solve it, would be quite different, however.


	6. Chapter 6: To Plan or to Act

"What's going on out here?" Alice asked, hearing Marisa and Sakuya's voices outside.

Alice left Reisen Udongein Inaba's room and saw that the maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion had a knife pointed at Marisa.

Marisa looked visibly frightened, and faced Alice with a pleading look in her eyes. Sakuya turned to look at Alice, and warily studied her. Upon seeing Alice's ghostly lower half, she lowered her knife slightly, but pointed her new control rod at Marisa to suggest she was still watching the witch and spoke to Alice.

"I know you two are friends. Do you have any part to play in this, Alice?"

Alice figured there was no point in lying. "I don't want to explain again and again, so the short version is, yes. I am. Marisa and I have accidentally given powers and features to people they don't belong to while in pursuit of something, by using the Miracle Mallet. You're familiar with it, aren't you?"

Sakuya recalled the Mallet's powers from a prior incident, and nodded. "So you're using Shinmyoumaru Sukuna to your advantage?"

"She decided to help us, actually. So that our prisoners - like you and your mistress - could be set free…"

Sakuya just remembered something. "My mistress! I forgot, she called for me! I must get to her at once!"

Sakuya hurried to the room Remilia's voice came from, but before she opened the door to enter, looked back at Alice and Marisa. "I will bring you to justice, but my lady's needs come first. Consider yourselves lucky I'm not attacking you here and now…"

With that, Sakuya entered the room and closed the door behind her. Alice and Marisa looked at each other for a moment, before Marisa shook her head and found a place to sit down.

"I don't want to get on her bad side ever again. She's terrifying enough on her own, but with nuclear fusion capabilities? Yikes."

Alice sat down next to Marisa. "What are we going to do? They're all going to understandably be very belligerent with us, but we can't release them until your wish is fully granted. Do we have to keep fighting them to keep them here, or...?"

Marisa shrugged. "I dunno. That seems like a surefire way to receive a beating fast. But the way you trailed off like that, it sounds like you have an idea."

"Maybe. What if we convinced them that they had more important things to attend to?"

"Like what? They're gonna care about solving an incident, one we caused! That's gotta be the first thing on their minds right now. Sakuya is proof enough of that."

Alice smiled and shook her head. "I'm certain Remilia would like to get back to her Mansion as soon as possible, for one, and wherever she goes, Sakuya goes as well."

"You might have a point there, Alice."

"All it will take is a little convincing that that's their first priority."

The two continued to talk about what they should do going forward. Meanwhile, Sakuya was speaking with her mistress in their room. Aya Shameimaru was also in there, but she was being ignored any time she tried to enter the conversation.

"So, you have no idea where you got those spheres, nor do I this metal beam, stone shoe, and eye. We also don't know what they do."

"Or my doll!" Aya attempted to join again.

"No, Sakuya, but I do feel oddly like I'm not totally here…"

"What does that mean, my lady?"

"Like I could also be somewhere else right now."

"I don't understand completely, but as long as you don't feel it threatens you, then I won't be concerned either."

Aya had just realized something, and had enough of being ignored, so she decided to give some important information. "I know what they are."

Sakuya and Remilia finally acknowledged the tengu's existence.

"Thank you for not ignoring me. Anyways, I just remembered what the circles attached to your necklace are, Remilia. And I know about those things of yours, Sakuya."

"What? How? Are you also behind this?" Sakuya was glaring accusatorily at Aya.

"No, I don't know how you both got them. But, doing a bit of journalism in the past has gotten me some valuable information."

Remilia seemed excited. "Tell me!"

Aya laughed. "Well, Remilia, I've actually had... the pleasure… of interviewing the person those belonged to. The interview never got published, though. Those spheres belong to none other than Hecatia Lapislazuli, Goddess of Hell."

Sakuya and Remilia were dumbfounded. "Goddess… of Hell?" The vampire slowly asked.

Aya nodded. "I interviewed her about the lifestyle of Hell, and concerns many people have about immigrants from places outside of Gensokyo, like Hell, or the Moon, or the Outside World. I was slightly unsettled by what she told me, but she doesn't seem like a bad person herself."

"I don't care what kind of person this Hecatia is! What do these things do?"

"That, I don't know. But for the Goddess of Hell to control them, they must be have a very useful effect. Of course, you have realized that one of them looks like the Moon, and another like Earth, yes? Though I can't identify the third."

Remilia clearly had not noticed this. "Umm… well, yeah, duh! What sort of fool wouldn't notice that instantly? Though I do wonder what the significance of it is."

"And as for Miss Sakuya… I believe you have heard of Utsuho Reiuji?"

"The name sounds familiar."

"She's a hell raven in the Old Hell. She consumed a yatagarasu, an avatar of the sun god Amaterasu… or, at least, part of its spirit. Because of this, she's gained the ability to control nuclear fusion, which allows her to create stars. These stars are, of course, extremely hot, although Utsuho herself does not feel their heat."

"That sounds quite powerful."

"It is," Aya affirmed, "so I would recommend against using it recklessly. Of course, you can be trusted to be responsible, right, Sakuya?"

"Of course."

Remilia was wearing a large frown. "Sakuya, I do not want you to use that power. At all. Am I understood?"

"Er, yes, my lady. But why is that, if I may ask?"

"The Sun is a star, is it not?"

Aya nodded. "Yes, it is."

Remilia looked down and was twiddling her thumbs. "I'm very weak to the Sun. I imagine that these stars would have a similar effect on me. So, Sakuya, please. There is to be absolutely no star power! Just use your knives, alright?"

"Yes, my lady."

* * *

"Do you see her?"

Reimu was pointing towards a small figure among the outer edge of the Forest of Magic.

The other three silently nodded, and all four of them made their way in her general direction.

"I know her, from the Four Seasons Incident. That's Narumi Yatadera. She's a Jizo statue given life as a magician youkai. And she's pretty strong to boot."

Patchouli spoke. "A magician youkai, hmm? I'm curious which of us is the stronger."

Kasen rolled her eyes. "Now isn't the time to get embroiled in a pointless fight. We should fly around her and get to the culprit."

While the other three spoke amongst themselves, Eirin was actually monitoring Narumi's movements.

"You three. Narumi is flying up towards us."

Reimu was alarmed. "Impossible! She wasn't even looking at us…"

Kasen sighed. "Probably a new ability of hers. It looks like we may get in a fight after all…"

Narumi closed in on the group of four, and called out to them. "Who are you all?"

Reimu yelled back. "How did you notice us?"

Narumi did not respond until she got much closer, to a normal talking distance. "My new ability. I can just detect moving things all of a sudden. It can be pretty convenient."

Reimu looked over her for any identifying features of her new ability and made the connection. "You have the wings of one of those nuisance fairies at my shrine! Which one was it…?"

Kasen cleared her throat very loudly. "Again, we don't have time for this. There's an incident to solve…"

"An incident, you say? Must be about the new powers. What's with the wings, Reimu? It affected you, too?"

Reimu decided Kasen was right and that Narumi's new power wasn't dangerous. "It's of no consequence to you. We have things to do."

Narumi kept probing, though. "Oh, really? Why won't you tell me? Is it so weak that you're embarrassed just having it? Or so strong that you're afraid of people knowing about it?"

"Keep delaying me and I'll show it to you. But you'd end up regretting that."

"Alright, alright, it's sensitive information. I'll respect that."

Kasen dismissively waved her hand and moved past Narumi. "Alright. We have better places to be, so let's get going."

Reimu and Eirin joined Kasen, but Patchouli was striking up conversation. "So you're a magician youkai, I hear."

Narumi nodded, so Patchouli kept going. "As am I. I'm always interested in other magicians' abilities. I already know of one magician youkai, and one human magician, both of whom I'm searching for right now. Of course, those three won't let me, but I'm curious about others like me."

"I think I know who you're talking about. Alice and Marisa, right? I've seen both around the Forest of Magic a few times, often together. Haven't seen either at all recently, though."

"That's right. But they've been gone for a while because they might have been kidnapped."

"Patchouli, what are you doing? Come on!" The impatient Reimu had her arms crossed. So did Kasen. Eirin, however, did not seem annoyed.

Patchouli begrudgingly rejoined the rest of the party, and flew off into the Forest of Magic.

Narumi watched them vanish into the trees. "Alice and Marisa are actually missing, huh? Maybe I'll do a little bit of trailing and see for myself…"

* * *

Flying above Gensokyo was the duo of the Goddess of Hell and her fairy, Clownpiece.

"So, what are you doing in Gensokyo, Miss Hecatia?"

"It has been a while since I asked you to reside in Gensokyo, right, Clownpiece? I do believe you've become familiar with its workings."

"I mean, I guess? What does that have to do with it?"

"One of the reasons for leaving you in Gensokyo was to reward you for helping out on the moon. You deserve better than Hell."

"Okay?"

Hecatia laughed. "There is another reason, which is a complicated matter. But, I'll try to explain it to you as well as I can, Clownpiece. Do you recall the blonde-haired woman I was speaking to prior to stationing you on the moon?"

"Yup."

"She and I hold a common interest in punishing a certain person on the moon for their past actions, but they have proven elusive. While you were on the moon, we were activating a plan that would cripple the Lunarian society our target was a part of, forcing them to Gensokyo. Their path to Gensokyo from the Moon took them through the Dream World, where I was stationed. This plan was working quite well. However, the Lunarians arrived in Gensokyo with the announced intention of invading it. This caused multiple residents of Gensokyo, including Reimu Hakurei, to try to defeat the Lunarian invasion at the source - its commanders on the Moon. Along the way, they were told of our plan by the Lunarians, and that's when you had to fight multiple people."

"I remember being really confused about the people that fought me. You told me to keep all of the Lunarians away, but I didn't really know who those people were."

"I'm still proud of you for putting up a good fight against some of the strongest in Gensokyo. They even bested me in battle, I'm afraid…"

"Woah, they beat you? That's crazy!"

Hecatia stopped moving and looked out over the plains of Gensokyo with an intense look.

"What I'm about to tell you is a secret. I don't want you telling anyone. Do you promise not to?"

"Okay!"

"Okay. The woman I was working with before and I are still trying to get our revenge on the Lunarians. But we've discovered that one of the invasion leaders from before has been coming down to meet with Lunarians who have been living in Gensokyo, which suggests to us that there may be a conspiracy between those fallen Lunarians and the invaders. We also have reason to believe that this invasion leader is attempting to manipulate opinion and fact across Gensokyo to suit her whims. This is rather problematic not only for us, but for you, and all of Gensokyo. Power plays such as these from the Lunarians are not going to be simply tolerated."

The Goddess of Hell turned to the star-spangled fairy, Clownpiece. "This is where you come in. I have had you live in Gensokyo not only so you could enjoy a better life than the one you led in Hell, but also because I needed this place to become familiarized with your presence. You are a fairy, Clownpiece. Many people in Gensokyo view fairies as idiots who are to be ignored. You aren't like that, of course, but that is the assumption people make. Just as I thought, you would find fairy friends, and would begin acting as they do, as opposed to the mannerisms of hell fairies. So, nobody will suspect you when I order you to your next task."

Clownpiece wasn't really sure what Hecatia wanted, but she did know that she was willing to do a lot for Hecatia. So, she nodded in agreement.

"I need you, Clownpiece, to go to the place the fallen Lunarians and the Lunarian leader meet. I need you to continue to act as a normal Gensokyan fairy when you're there, playing pranks and whatnot. But your true task is to keep an eye on those Lunarians. I am referring to those who live in Eientei - Kaguya Houraisan and Eirin Yagokoro. They have been meeting with a prominent Lunarian, Sagume Kishin… I want you to keep watch over the actions of these three, along with other suspicious individuals who come in, and report what they do and say."

"How do you know about this, Hecatia?"

"Let's just say I was being interviewed by a journalist here, and I happened to catch a glimpse of a picture she had taken in secret, and an article she was writing about it. While this journalist often blows things out of proportion in her articles, in this case the picture was genuinely problematic to me… Regardless, I won't set you on this task until after we can figure out where these new traits come from. Once we do that, I'll give you more helpful information about your new job. Until then, let's enjoy more relaxed conversation, hmm?"

* * *

It was rare for Yukari Yakumo to not be aware of the goings-on in Gensokyo and what was causing them. Such unexpected twists were something she had to take a more active role than usual in solving.

She was murmuring to herself. "The shockwave I felt is surely the work of the Miracle Mallet. But is this Shinmyoumaru Sukuna's own doing, or is she being manipulated again? And if so, by who? What do they desire that would impact Gensokyo in this way?"

Even more troubling to her was the unexpected arrival of Hecatia Lapislazuli, the extremely powerful Goddess of Hell who more than rivaled Yukari's own ability, that seemed to coincide with the events that were now unfolding. "What is her involvement? It can't be merely coincidence. Or perhaps it is?"

Even people she previously counted on were losing their ties to her. "First Kasen. She says she isn't on my side anymore. Then Okina expresses doubts… I must be losing my edge." She giggled at this notion. "At least I can count on the shrine maiden, even if she can't quite keep up with me."

Yukari waved her hand as if to dismiss her own thoughts. "What's important is the combinations of powers that will surely be experimented with in the next few days. I must identify any problematic combinations and whether the person that owns them can be trusted with them."

She now turned around to address her shikigami, Ran and Chen. "I am going to scout out some things in Gensokyo. I'd like you two to stay here for the time being, so find something for yourselves to do. I should be back within three days, but don't panic if I'm not. Alright?"

The two were still confused with Yukari's thought processes and her change in tone ever since the entered the Land of the Rear Door, but didn't question their master's ways. "Yes, Lady Yukari," they said in unison.

"Well, then, I'll be off. Don't get into trouble, now." With that, Yukari stepped into another one of her gaps.

* * *

"We could be wandering in this forest for days, it's so dense." Reimu was complaining about the confusing nature of the Forest of Magic.

"Let's not get discouraged before we even really start, Reimu," Eirin chided the shrine maiden like a mother does to her children.

"She's always like this," Kasen remarked, "because that's just her personality. She complains a lot, but never really wants to solve problems herself. Unless it's an incident, that is. Or if something happens to the donations she very rarely gets."

Reimu turned her face to the teasing hermit, scowling, but her expression changed into a look of bewilderment. "What?!"

Everyone turned to look at Kasen, and saw the figure behind her.

Dressed in purple and white, with a mob cap and horns on her head and a parasol in hand, emerging from a gap was none other than…

"Yukari!" Reimu managed to get out after seeing the boundary youkai. "Are you somehow behind this?"

Yukari giggled, pulling out a fan and obscuring the bottom half of her face with it. "I'm afraid not. Even I don't know who is doing this. It is, of course, the Miracle Mallet's power manifesting itself, but I would venture that this is not the wish, but rather, the side effect. But that is not what I'm here for. I'm here to make sure you aren't going to be problematic with your new abilities. Let's see… Reimu, with Nue. I could see possible problems, but not immediate. Kasen, with Reisen. Both responsible enough. Patchouli, with Yuuka. That's stable. Eirin, with Mystia. Depending on what transferred from Eirin to Mystia, that could be problematic."

Kasen and Eirin were noticeably displeased with Yukari's presence. Reimu looked slightly happy, and Patchouli had a neutral expression.

Kasen always seemed to cross her arms when very serious. "Yukari. We can take care of this ourselves. We don't need your meddling to do so."

"Heehee. You don't like me very much, do you? That's a shame. But I'm not going to be looking for the culprit. I'll leave that to you. I'm looking for possible problems as a result of this incident. Right now, you four are okay. I am worried of what Mystia will try to do with Eirin's abilities. Is she now immortal? Unlikely, but I can't dismiss it. Perhaps she has inherited your medical knowledge, Eirin. Or, is it the Lunarian mindset of conceit and intolerance that she received?"

Eirin rarely felt angry, but Yukari was one of the things that never failed to stir up rage. "Listen here, Yukari. You know well how I feel about you. In the past, you have invaded my home multiple times. You are a manipulator who doesn't care how their actions affect others. I agree with you about the incident, but I don't want to hear you insulting me."

"Thanks for the compliments, Eirin. But I'd like to point you to a certain incident in which you yourself didn't completely weigh the consequences."

Patchouli interjected. "We're delaying you, Yukari. Please continue to ensure the safety of Gensokyo, and we will work toward bringing this incident to a close."

"Suits me." Kasen looked away.

Yukari backed into her gap, waving at the group. "Good luck~"

* * *

Sanae was flying down Youkai Mountain on her way to solve this new incident. Although she was experienced in incident resolution, she did not have any leads. At least the tengu were familiar enough with Sanae and the current situation that they knew she was out to solve it, and they let her pass with no qualms.

Sanae had heard from the tengu that Aya, prominent journalist of Bunbunmaru Newspaper, had vanished, and decided that it was likely connected to the power shifting incident, even if it was a tenuous connection. So, curious to see what sort of powers others inherited, Sanae flew down to the next nearest location with powerful people she knew - the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Perhaps she would meet with Remilia, Sakuya, or Patchouli, she thought. Of course, she wasn't aware that all three were out and about.

Landing in front of the imposing mansion, Sanae was surprised to not see the gatekeeper, Meiling, in her usual position. She looked around the premises to see if anyone was home, when she felt a tug on the dress of her shrine maiden uniform.

"Look, Meiling, a visitor!"

"I can see that, Flandre. I am holding the umbrella over you, after all."

Sanae turned around to look at the olive-clad gatekeeper, Meiling, and Flandre, the little vampire. She recognized Meiling, but didn't recall the other. At least she just learned her name from Meiling, she thought.

"Who are you? I haven't seen you before!"

Sanae was confused. This girl was clearly a resident of the Mansion, so why had Sanae not seen her before? She even bore a remarkable resemblance to Remilia Scarlet.

"I'm Sanae Kochiya, from the Moriya Shrine on Youkai Mountain."

The little girl looked like she had stars in her eyes. "Woah! The Youkai Mountain? Patchy's told me about it, but I've never met anyone from there! The only people I know from outside the Mansion are Reimu and Marisa… Remi always kept me in. But now she's not here, and Sakuya's not here, and Patchy's not here, so I can go out!"

Sanae was mystified. "I've spoken with Remilia multiple times, but she never mentioned this. She's keeping someone locked up, never able to go out?!"

Flandre pouted, and Meiling explained. "There are… reasons for that. Flandre here is not just anyone, though; she's the younger sister of Remilia."

"She keeps her little sister from going outside? How did I not know this? When I see her next, I'm going to have to give her a piece of my mind!"

"Yeah! I've always wanted to go outside, but she always told me it was too dangerous. But it doesn't seem very dangerous to me, if everyone's nice like you and Reimu and Marisa!"

Meiling smiled with an apologetic look. "She's not talking about it being dangerous for you, Flandre."

Flandre started pulling on Sanae's sleeve. "Wanna play?"

Sanae's eyes shifted from Flandre up to Meiling, who was subtly shaking her head and mouthing "no."

"Sorry, I have something to do. But, I do have some questions for you two. About an incident."

Meiling gestured back and forth from her umbrella to Flandre's hair stick and ribbon, and to Sanae's hat.

"Yes, that. It seems like people in Gensokyo have started gaining new powers from other people. Even the goddesses of Moriya Shrine. And I think I know where yours are from…"

Meiling and Flandre were both interested.

"Back during the Divine Spirit incident, I was tracking down what was drawing out all the spirits. It turned out to be the resurrection of a legendary Taoist hermit, Toyosatomimi no Miko. But along the way, I met two people, among others. One of them was Kogasa Tatara, an umbrella youkai. That's what your umbrella looks like, Meiling. As for little Flandre, your new items are from Seiga Kaku, a wicked Taoist hermit."

Flandre beamed. "They let me go through walls now!"

Meiling flashed an unhappy look at Flandre. "Yes, by cutting through them, leaving gaping holes… I wonder how I'll explain that."

"Do you know where they came from?"

Meiling shook her head. Flandre was playing with her ribbon, balling it up and throwing it up in the air. However, it just hit the underside of the umbrella and landed on her head, causing her to giggle.

Sanae couldn't help but smile at the cheery playfulness of Flandre Scarlet, but she couldn't stay long to watch. She waved goodbye and ascended of the ground. Before leaving the scene, though, she heard a cry from Flandre.

"Wait! I wanna go too!"

Meiling had a plainly evident look of annoyance on her face. "Sanae, you'd better let her go with you. She'll freak out if we don't." The inflection of "freak out" as Meiling said it implied she was downplaying something so she wouldn't upset Flandre.

While Sanae caught the hint, she didn't understand what there was to understate. She trusted Meiling enough to agree, however, knowing her as an honorable woman.

"Alright, you two can come with me. But if you do, I'd like you to at least help me solve the incident."

* * *

The mind-reader Satori was having what could be called a field day. There were so many things for her to see. This was simply because there were more people gathered here than she had seen together in a long while, and none of them were bothering with her, giving her ample room to read their thoughts and emotions without question.

The most interesting target for Satori was Alice. It was clear that the seven-colored puppeteer, as she was sometimes referred to, was having serious regrets about joining up with Marisa. It seemed like she was trying not to let worry consume her, from what Satori could tell, and Alice was doing her best not to get angry with her witch friend. What was it that kept her working with the witch? It wasn't the reward she was promised, at this stage. It was something else.

Sakuya's thoughts were rather amusing. Although the maid was constantly tending to her mistress's every need unquestionably and acting rather pleasant, in her mind were curses and sarcastic thoughts about Remilia's needy requests. Apparently the vampire had requested a thirty minute back massage at some point, which was a well-needed distraction from the current reality of Satori's situation as she read the maid's mind.

All of the captives, save for Shinmyoumaru, were thinking of escape, and all of them had the tools to do so. Except for Satori, that is. Her magical and physical abilities were not nearly as mighty as everyone else in the hut, so she was worried about when she would be able to get out. Her pets would probably be fine without her presence for a while, with the exception of Utsuho Reiuji. Satori could only hope that the feline kasha, Rin, would be able to keep Utsuho from literally or figuratively exploding, but with the knowledge that the hell raven had Sakuya's time powers, Satori couldn't be sure.

Satori's thoughts turned to Shinmyoumaru, the inchling. Her new abilities gave her extremely sensitive hearing as one effect, so the constant noise from Remilia's room was bothering her. Shinmyoumaru had only one goal in mind, to see the wish through. Satori felt empathy for the inchling, who really believed that despite the recoil of the wish, she was doing the right thing to help get the others free. It wasn't like she could leave, either; when the wish was finally granted, she had to be with someone she trusted, because she would be tiny and defenseless, so she would require protection.

Marisa's thoughts were exactly as Marisa's actions were: confident and forceful. Of course, Satori could tell that the witch often lied about even pointless details, and was looking to liberate her prisoners of some items she felt they didn't need. It seemed the witch was also really craving a good, all-out Spell Card battle, which she hadn't had since before she had set her whole plan in motion. She kept thinking about going out and Master Sparking some fairies, but reminded herself that that would only draw attention.

Satori didn't have any qualms about mind-reading everyone around her. With some introspection, she realized this is exactly why people hated her. Not that she could read their private thoughts, but that she did, and enjoyed it. She decided she was better off this way, though; she couldn't bother anyone with her ability if nobody bothered with her. Koishi offered more than enough in the way of social interaction, and there were always the pets when Koishi was wandering. Satori was quite content with the hate for her in this regard. She couldn't even know of it when nobody spoke with her anyway.


	7. Chapter 7: Kagome Kagome

_AN: It's been six chapters so I'd like to share a few things._

 _First off, this is literally my first story - not just Touhou, but actual work of fiction (or even creative writing, to an extent). At least, the first thing I've actually written for personal enjoyment rather than a school assignment. I'm surprised that I've managed to pump out chapters at the pace I am, given that. Also, I'm very happy with the response my story has gotten so far, but I think it's undeserved looking at some others. Thanks for reading mine, though!_

 _So, if my writing style seems janky, that newness is why. Looking back over what I've already written, I can't help but notice that I'm rushing through interactions and events in the story rather quickly, probably too fast. It's also likely too literal, with the exception of the end of chapter 3, as well. I'll work on that._

 _I'm hoping you all like the plot and character interactions so far. I prefer to get words on the paper and edit them later, so my ideas are constantly changing for how I want the story to go where I want. I try to leave some things open-ended and others rather clear, but I dunno how that looks to a reader who doesn't know about how I write. Basically, I have a general idea of what should end up happening in the story, but I'm writing the course of it on the fly._

 _I don't want to drag this out too long, because I know you'd rather read the story than my thoughts, but I've got one more thing to add: I appreciate any and all reviews. I don't care if you're harshly critical. That's probably exactly what would incentivize me to work harder towards writing better, anyways. But if you have anything to say, anything at all, I'd love to hear it._

 _Without further ado…_

* * *

Hecatia and Clownpiece were flying close to and parallel to the Forest of Magic, as it was not far from the Hakurei Shrine on the far east of Gensokyo, where they had started from.

The forest's vibrant greenery was beautiful to Hecatia. It and the rest of the natural splendor here a small part of what made Gensokyo appealing to her: a world of fantasy where people were truly free. Hell was once free too, a place for people to express themselves as they saw fit, whether they were evil or not. It was a true meritocracy - you got what you wanted by announcing your intentions and trying to follow through. If you were capable enough to do so, then you succeeded. If not, better luck next time, should there be a next time. This made Hell attractive to the worst of the worst, now without the burden of law, but also those who had the great creative ability to make use of Hell's system for positive reasons.

That was before the yamas made their move, though, bringing sweeping changes with them. They stood for order in Hell, which at that point was a dichotomy that denizens of Hell either hated or felt indifferent towards. While Hecatia was of the latter group, she did miss the old ways in a sense. Gensokyo was a reminder of this, which was the main reason for the goddess's enamorment with the fertile land.

As a fairy, a being representative of life and nature, Clownpiece also enjoyed Gensokyo's much richer climate. Well, technically, she was a lampad, but there was little difference.

Hecatia saw the shape of a lone person flying over the Forest Magic. Although she wasn't exactly certain who or what the person was, she had a feeling that they may be helpful to getting to the bottom of the new traits.

The duo of the goddess and fairy approached the figure, who appeared to have come to a halt and was watching something going on in the trees beneath them.

The person realized that the two were approaching and slowly looked up from the events that were going on below.

"Hello." she said simply, reverting her gaze to the trees.

"Not one for conversation?" Hecatia giggled.

"More like I'm focusing on them." The person pointed to a group of five individuals amidst the trees below, four of which were turned to look at a fifth.

Hecatia and Clownpiece moved around to get a better view past the thick canopy of the forest. They were both surprised to see a familiar face among the party below.

"Reimu!" Clownpiece shrieked excitedly.

The other person looked at the star-spangled fairy angrily. "Hush, or they'll notice us!" Looking back, she realized the one of the five the others were focused on had seemingly vanished while she was quieting Clownpiece.

Clownpiece was exuberant, quickly shifting from one place to another around Hecatia. "Let's go see her, let's go see her!"

Hecatia was bemused with the enthusiasm of the fairy. "Alright, okay! But try not to make Reimu mad. I'm not too certain what she thinks of me, after all. She might attack us"

So, the two left the other one above the treeline, who they never asked the name of. It was a certain magician wearing a straw hat...

The four were still talking amongst themselves after the fifth left. They did not notice the other duo descend to their height until Clownpiece yelled out rather loudly again.

"Reimu!"

Hecatia sighed at her fairy's antics and slowly followed her as she darted towards the shrine maiden.

Reimu turned towards the sound and saw a flash of red, white, and blue before it suddenly stopped about a foot from her, nearly causing a collision.

"You're the Hell fairy," she said with nonchalance. "What do you want from me?"

Clownpiece wasn't given a chance to respond when another voice in the group shouted. "You!"

Everyone turned to see Eirin pointing at someone nobody had noticed before, Hecatia Lapislazuli.

Hecatia was taken aback by the presence of Eirin Yagokoro beside the shrine maiden, but quickly regained her composure outwardly. On the inside, however, she was cursing the odds that she met the Lunarian in the middle of Gensokyo by complete chance.

Eirin floated over to Hecatia. "Sagume told me all about what you did, Hecatia. I don't appreciate you terrorising Lunarians, whether I still live among them or not."

Hecatia shrugged and spoke calmly. "That's right, I did. It's in the past now, isn't it? Either way, I don't want hostility in this moment. I'm wondering what you all are doing as it pertains to the odd events at hand." Turning to Reimu now, Hecatia added with a smirk, "Clownpiece told me you were out solving an incident since yesterday. And yet here we are, with a very late start, at the same point as you. What have you been doing?"

"Why does everyone feel the need to attack me?!" Reimu threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. "But what are you doing here, Hecatia? Shouldn't you be down in Hell, doing whatever it is a freaky t-shirt weirdo like you would do?"

"My, 'freaky t-shirt weirdo'? I'm offended! You certainly don't see me slighting your impractical sleeves, Reimu… but that's beside the point. I'm simply here to talk to my dear Clownpiece, and nothing more. I just so happened to get pulled into an incident while doing so."

Reimu narrowed her eyes, but seemed to momentarily accept Hecatia's explanation.

A person next to Reimu that Hecatia did not recognize moved around Hecatia, inspecting her. When she got to Hecatia's back, she was startled. "Her wings! They're Remilia's."

This name held little meaning to Hecatia, but she acted impressed. "Wow! Incredible!"

The last of the four, with pink hair and a bandaged arm, rolled her eyes. "I can understand stopping for a meeting with Yukari, but I'm getting rather tired of reminding you all that we have to solve this incident quickly. It seems like we're stopping every time we meet someone and engaging them in friendly conversation over tea."

Reimu cleared her throat. "That's Kasen Ibaraki, a hermit. She's been pretty grumpy lately, so don't mind her. She's just invested in this incident, is all."

"This group hasn't taken a liking to me, have they? Well, except for this one, I suppose…" Hecatia was gesturing at Patchouli, who was closely examining the wings protruding from Hecatia's back.

Patchouli quickly apologized and returned to the other three she was traveling with.

Clownpiece had moved back to a position beside her master and whispered in her ear. "You said that person was Eirin, right?"

Hecatia nodded. "This may throw a wrench in my plan. I'll talk about that later. For now, be friendly with them, including her."

Hecatia turned towards Reimu. "I know you're out solving the incident, as I stated before. Do you know anything about the cause of it?"

"It's coming from the Forest of Magic. Before it, a few people had their stuff stolen, and they were kidnapped themselves."

"Kidnapping and theft, huh?" Hecatia laughed. "Someone will have a not-so-pleasant encounter with the yama on the other side."

"Not before getting a lengthy lecture from Kasen here, once we find them," Reimu snorted.

"Alright, I'll leave you lot to solving it, then. Clownpiece and I will look for the culprit ourselves. Want to make it a race? I bet it would be a good incentive for you, Reimu, to not be shown up by a Hell denizen and a fairy. It wouldn't do for you to have a poor reputation, would it?"

Kasen smirked. "Already has one, I'd say. I think my hidden dojo gets more visitors than the Hakurei Shrine."

Reimu dismissively shrugged. "You can say what you like. I'll get my big break soon enough, you'll see. As for you, Hecatia… I won't lose to the likes of you! Let's get going, team!"

Hecatia had the last word, though. "By the way, Eirin, tell the Lunarians… Junko sends her regards."

This statement, accompanied by a knowing smirk, elicited a silent glare from the Lunarian doctor, who turned away.

With that, Reimu and the others flew off in whatever direction they were heading before, leaving Hecatia and Clownpiece by themselves.

Hecatia sighed. "I probably shouldn't have said that. Now they'll be hypervigilant. At least it gave me some satisfaction…"

"So what do you want me to do now? They're gonna be onto me!"

"You're right, Clownpiece. I'll think of something else I'll have you accomplish. That aside, let's not fall too far behind them, right? I don't intend on losing to her…"

* * *

Alice gently pushed open the door to the room containing Remilia, Sakuya, and Aya.

"I have something I need to speak with you two about. Not you, Aya. Follow me."

The tengu reporter pouted. "Everyone always leaves me out of the exciting stuff!"

The master of the Scarlet Devil Mansion and her maid wordlessly left the room at the behest of Alice into the main room of the small hut, where Marisa and Shinmyoumaru were already standing.

"Please, take a seat, you two." Alice gestured at two empty chairs.

Remilia finally spoke up. "It's about time you let me out of that stuffy cage. Is that sty your excuse for good treatment of guests?"

Marisa laughed. "You're not guests!"

"Anyways, I have a matter I'd like to discuss with you two. Honestly, Marisa and I have all but realized our goal. We're worrying there may be an… insurrection of sorts among our captives, one that we couldn't control. So, we have an offer for you. We know that you have important matters at your Mansion, Remilia. We would like to allow you the opportunity to return to your home, with the only requirement being that you do not try to harm anyone on your way there. Of course, we also ask you not tell anyone about our operation here."

Remilia was surprised at the generosity. "You'd let me leave, right now? I'm… flattered, I suppose."

"It's just a precautionary sorta thing. We'd hate to get blasted outta here before I get what I want. It's just a matter of time before you try to fight back, anyways, so why not?"

"Immediately?"

"Yes."

Remilia motioned for her maid to follow her out the front door, but she did not. "My lady, they have some things that belong to us. I believe they owe us those items?"

Marisa shook her head. "Not yet. You get that stuff back when I die. And even then, it's not like you're gonna miss it. Patchouli's gone a long time without some of her books already!"

Alice added on. "If you want them back, you'll have to wait for them, but we need them for a time longer. I promise they'll be returned…" The puppeteer was staring daggers at Marisa, who looked at the floor.

"Fine! Fine. You'll get them back, later."

"It's alright, Sakuya. I'm not worried about a few books. Now, my parasol?"

Sakuya produced a parasol from seemingly nowhere and was already holding it over her master's head. The two left the hut without saying anything more.

Marisa and Alice looked at each other for a moment, feeling some pressure off their shoulders. Unfortunately, it was to be put right back on.

Aya was staring in the open door of her room. Satori had also wordlessly emerged from her room, and was standing meekly in the corner of the hut. Reisen had apparently heard some commotion as well, and was just now opening her door.

The tengu was the first to speak. "Were you planning on letting the rest of us go?"

"Well-"

"I want out of here now. You're just going to let them go and not me? I have things to do. My readers are missing out on the news in Gensokyo!"

"I'm needed in Eientei," Reisen added, "so I also need to be freed as well. If not, then I'll have to free myself!"

"Uhh, certainly! Certainly…" Marisa took a few steps back.

Satori was looking blankly at Marisa and Alice. "The last thing they want is a fight, it would obviously draw attention to their hideout. Their best option is to let us go, just as they did the other two."

"What did I say about mind reading me?!" Marisa threatened.

Satori smiled slightly. "That wasn't necessary. It doesn't take a bibliophile to read from an open book."

Alice didn't show any change in emotion like Marisa did. "You're right, of course. You three are free to go whenever. Just follow the rules I laid out to Remilia and Sakuya. You all evidently heard them…"

"What about my camera? I can at least have that back, can't I?"

"Yes, yes. You aren't getting the vials, Reisen, before you ask."

"Fine," the rabbit muttered, "just get me home."

So, the tengu, moon rabbit, and satori exited the hut, leaving just three within - the ordinary magician, Marisa, the seven-colored puppeteer, Alice, and the inchling princess, Shinmyoumaru.

"Well. This isn't what we planned originally. At all." Marisa sighed. "How are we going to keep them from blabbing about our location?"

Alice felt the same as Marisa. "We won't. We'll just have to try to stop them until your wish is granted, Marisa. Anyone who comes in should expect a fight. Until then, all we can do is wait."

"I'll help too!" Shinmyoumaru exclaimed more cheerfully than the other two, somehow. "If I get beaten before the wish is granted, then it won't ever come true, and I'll instantly shrink. So, I'm with you two until you've gotten your servant, Marisa."

* * *

Remilia and Sakuya had been flying somewhat aimlessly above the treetops of the Forest of Magic for several minutes when Sakuya's sharp eye caught movement in the space below. Trying to find their bearings on their own was not proving fruitful, so they figured they should talk to whoever they saw to figure it out.

"Hello! You there! We require assistance, please!" Remilia cried at the unidentified figure.

The person they saw looked up and started laughing. "I've seen you two before. You're from the Scarlet Devil Mansion, are you not?"

The vampire and the maid descended to the ground alongside the other person. She were a relaxed looking woman dressed almost entirely in brown, with brown hair that seemed to have a slight reddish tint, almost like mahogany. She studied the vampire with eyes behind small circular glasses. The most prominent aspect of her, though, was the large raccoon-like tail she had, which was gently swaying. It was evident that this girl was a tanuki.

"Yes, we are. I'm afraid I don't know your name, though."

The tanuki laughed and took a swig from a white bottle. "I suppose I'll tell you. I'm Mamizou Futatsuiwa, the bake-danuki."

Remilia didn't really recognize her. "Could you show us the way out of this forest? Sakuya and I are at a loss, to our own shame."

"I suppose I could... but that would be interrupting my walk. Frankly, I'm more interested in enjoying this fine afternoon than leading some lost noble out of this forest. How did you get this deep in, anyways? I thought I was the only one who ever went this far."

"We were kidnapped by Marisa Kirisame and brought to some unknown location. Have you heard of her?"

Mamizou spat out another gulp she was taking. "Pfffff! You got kidnapped… by Marisa?! That's rich. I thought taking objects was her style, not people."

Remilia cringed at the lack of refined manners from Mamizou. "And here we are. She let us go, though, because she evidently doesn't have much use for us in her plots."

"Marisa, plotting? I never thought she would be one to do that, either. Is there a story to this?"

"Excuse me, Lady Remilia, but I thought they specifically told us not to share their identities?"

"As if I care! They deserve anything that we can send after them. But, to answer your question, Mamizou, they seem to want to make a servant. For Marisa, that is."

"They?"

"She's working with her friend, that 'Alice', the dollmaker."

The bake-danuki nodded, thinking about something. "Where were they?"

"...I don't know, in some little shack they made somewhere in the woods. I don't know where exactly. Like I said, we're lost in here. We've gotten turned around in this sea of trees."

Mamizou smiled. "Well, now I'm interested. I should probably tell Nue about it, she'd get a kick out of of this… you know what? Since I'll be going back to talk with her, I'll bring you with me."

"Truly?" Remilia's eyes widened in hope.

"Sure. Just don't annoy me."

The bake-danuki turned around and beckoned for the other two to follow. "I'll be hurrying back, so try to keep up!"

* * *

Youmu Konpaku was getting very annoyed with the quirky satori that was following her around.

The duo was on the Road of Liminality, heading past a large amount of merchant's stalls. Youmu was familiar with the trail - it was often walked by ghosts and phantoms. While the place had a festival-like environment, most of the stands were operated by sinners sentenced to Hell, so they employed tricks to keep customers paying.

This didn't seem to faze Koishi at all. She made a point of going to every stall on the road, completely ignoring any lines. Youmu tried to take these chances to separate herself from Koishi, but any time she did, the girl mysteriously appeared behind her and pulled her back.

"Look at this one, Youmu! It says 'Try to catch a dead goldfish from the water! Win a prize!'"

Youmu rolled her eyes and followed Koishi to the front of the line.

The operator of the stand was angry at Koishi and Youmu. "Kids these days! If you brats want a chance to play, wait your turn in line!"

Koishi giggled and turned to Youmu. "Watch this!"

Koishi played the game in spite of the operator trying to shoo her away. She managed to catch a goldfish from the water in her mouth, like she was bobbing for apples, and spat it out at the stall keeper.

The dead fish hit the gruff man in the face and he shook his fist at Koishi, then threw a punch at her. Or rather, where she was.

Koishi had seemingly vanished from sight, leaving just Youmu looking just as confused as the shopkeep. She found herself holding one of the prizes from the stand, a large fabric doll, and looked from it to the stand owner and back to the prize. She moved to give it back, when she felt yet another characteristic tug.

It was Koishi behind her, yet again. "I won that fair and square! You're just holding it for me. Come on, let's check out some more!"

Youmu smiled apologetically at the stall's operator, who was still in shock. All he saw was Youmu getting dragged away by some invisible force with a prize in her hands. He couldn't even remember what had taken the prize or hit him with the dead goldfish in the first place.

Youmu was starting to get really fed up with Koishi. She was out of Hakugyokurou to solve an incident, and instead she's being dragged to a bunch of food and game stands by a little kid.

"Koishi, we need to talk."

"Huh? D'you wanna see a specific stand?"

"No! I want to go solve an incident!"

Koishi stared at Youmu for several seconds.

"Okay, why didn't you just say so? Let's go!"

"Unbelievable…"

* * *

"This is bad." Yukari stood face to face with Seiga Kaku, the wicked hermit, at the Hall of Dreams' Great Mausoleum.

Seiga bore a smug expression and was releasing some form of energy from her hands. The jeweled wings of Flandre Scarlet were spread on her back, rattling with an eerie sound.

"Of course, it would be someone like you to get Flandre's powers."

"I've taken the liberty to test it out on a few things… incredible. The ability to destroy anything. Think about the possibilities! And to think it was wasted on a small child, locked up in a house. I intend to put it to the good use it deserves!"

Yukari looked very composed. "I won't allow you to disrupt the balance of Gensokyo with that. Someone who's lived too long has certainly come up with many malicious ideas."

"I've lived too long? Says Yukari Yakumo, the hag of Gensokyo!"

"You're not the first to call me a hag."

"I'll be the last, once I show you my new power!"

With that, Seiga dropped back, powerful magic coursing through her.

Yukari smirked. "How many cards?"

"Five!" Seiga called back. "Whoever gets hit five times first, loses!"

"It's a duel, then. Let us begin."

Yukari drifted backwards. It was time to punish the hermit for her insolence. She was as bad as Marisa as a thief, and was immeasurably greedier, concerned with her own ends exclusively. She should have expired long ago, but she was clever enough to keep beating death itself. If she couldn't be carried off by a kasha or shinigami, the least Yukari could do would be to incapacitate her for a while.

Seiga wasted no time sending out a collection of knives at Yukari, a non-spell card attack.

Yukari effortlessly dodged, weaving in and out of the many knives flying at her with what appeared to be relative ease. She began to shoot out many kunai in a circular direction around herself, but Seiga was able to dodge these while still hurling knives at Yukari.

Floating upwards, and side to side, Yukari changed the trajectory of the kunai to make it more difficult for Seiga to dodge. Seiga found this change difficult to adjust to immediately, so she called out her first spell card.

"Demonify 'Zouhou Rumo'!"

A dead body slowly rose up in front of Seiga. More accurately, a jiang shi, a reanimated corpse whose bite turns one into a jiang shi themselves.

"Yukari, meet Yoshika, my personal guardian!"

Seiga began releasing large orbs all around her, while her minion, Yoshika, shot out small kunai in a denser double spiral pattern. Yukari realized in an instant that while there were more kunai in the air than magic orbs, it was the latter she would have to worry about - the kunai created small paths for Yukari to travel through, while the large spheres of magic would obstruct these paths.

Of course, while Yukari preferred to stay out of battles when she could, she was the exact opposite of a slouch in combat. Dodging the kunai was simple, and every once in awhile, she was faced with a large orb, which she ducked out of the way of. Continuing to shoot kunai herself, Yukari managed to disable the jiang shi by hitting it several times. While none of these hits technically counted towards Seiga's total, it did give her more time to focus on the hermit.

As Seiga's spell card petered out, Yukari managed to land a single kunai on the hermit's leg, the first hit of the battle.

Seiga did not hesitate to pull out another spell card, seeing that Yukari would be a challenging foe.

"Tao Sign 'Tao Taidou'!"

Yoshika, lifeless, suddenly reanimated herself and assumed a position behind Seiga, rather than serving as a shield as before.

Both began releasing bright blue lasers that curved through the air. They were not particularly fast, but they left trails behind them that restricted mobility for Yukari. Then, both Seiga and Yoshika launched a salvo of white orbs at Yukari. Thanks to the blue lasers, Yukari found she had to squeeze tightly between the orbs to avoid getting hit.

"That was too close. This hermit is really something…"

Yukari dodged another set of white spheres and came to a decision regarding her next move.

"Barrier 'Mesh of Light and Darkness'!"

Yukari released a series of blue and red balls of magic. Wherever they traveled, sprouted multiple linear lasers of the same color that lasted for several seconds, creating a web of bright neon. The orbs haphazardly flew in the general vicinity of Seiga, designed to hit her when she is focused on staying within a cage of lasers.

And so two spheres did hit her, bringing Seiga's spell card to a halt, but not before Seiga managed a hit with a kunai Yukari carelessly floated into. Seiga had now sustained three of five hits to Yukari's one, with Seiga having already burned through two cards and Yukari using just one.

Seiga shot out several ellipsoids of magic, while Yoshika continued her barrage of kunai, now fired directly in front of her as she slowly maneuvered around the battlefield. The bean-shaped projectiles from the wicked hermit were forming obvious lanes, but Yoshika's kunai made it difficult for Yukari to get into the large lanes. It was nothing the well-known youkai of boundaries couldn't handle, though.

Seiga tired of this again, and drew another spell card. Yukari felt something off about this one, something that Seiga shouldn't be able to do.

"Secret 'And Then Will There Be None?'!"


End file.
